Prehistoric ruins of Jericho, registered as a World Heritage Site

The UNESCO committee has inscribed this Sunday the prehistoric ruins of Tel es Sultan, located two kilometers from the city of Jericho, considered the oldest city in the world located in Palestine, as a World Heritage Site at the annual convention that takes place. celebrates in Riyadh.

Without any intervention, the 21-member committee has quickly approved the inscription of this site, which joins the three places that Palestine already has on the UN agency's list, such as the Church of the Nativity and the pilgrimage route , in Bethlehem.

After approval, the Palestinian delegation pointed out that this is the first time they have presented a candidacy made solely by local personnel and thanked “the immediate registration” thanks to the “singularity” of this property, among other elements.

UNESCO, which states that this site is located in the Jordan Valley, describes the property as an oval-shaped mound containing the prehistoric deposits of human activity, and includes the adjacent perennial spring of Ain es Sultan.

Between the 9th and 8th millennium BC. A permanent settlement had already emerged here, due to the oasis' fertile soil and easy access to water.. The skulls and statues found at the site attest to cult practices among the Neolithic populations who lived there, and the archaeological material from the Early Bronze Age shows signs of urban planning.

The remains of the Middle Bronze Age reveal the presence of a large Canaanite city-state occupied by a socially complex population.

The Unesco committee continues this Sunday for the second day with the examination of the fifty candidates for this year to register them or not as a World Heritage Site.