Jericho. Recent excavations have also shown
why later generations regarded its capture by the Hebrews as a
miracle, although many modern interpreters hold that the early
account does not imply that it was by supernatural means. Like
most of the Canaanite cities, it was situated on a slightly rising
eminence, close to the foothills that on the west rose abruptly to
the central plateau of Canaan. Northward, eastward, and southward,
extended for miles the level plain of the Jordan river, which
plowed its way through its alluvial bed, six miles east of Jericho.
Close by the site of the ancient city came the perennial waters of
the Wady Kelt with which it was possible to irrigate its fields.
Past the town ran the main highway from across the Jordan, along
the northern side of the Wady Kelt, to join the great central
highway that extended through the centre of Palestine. Jericho
was, therefore, the key to the land of Canaan, and its capture was
necessary if the Hebrews were to maintain their connection with
their kinsmen east of the Jordan.

The ruins of the ancient Canaanite town rise between forty and
fifty feet above the plain. It is an oblong mound containing
altogether about twelve acres. The excavations have disclosed a
large part of the encircling wall. It was a construction of
excellent workmanship which still stands practically intact,
testifying to the accuracy of the early Hebrew tradition. Its
foundation is a wall of rubble sixteen feet high and six to eight
feet thick, sloping inward. On the top of this foundation, which
rested on the native rock, was built a supplemental wall of burnt
brick six or seven feet in thickness and rising even now in its
ruined condition on an average eight feet above the lower wall.
Thus the original wall must have towered between twenty and thirty
feet above the plain. At the northern end of the city stood the
citadel, made of unburnt brick, three stories high. Even the stone
staircase which led to the top is still intact.

According to these investigators the late tradition that these
walls fell flat to the earth as the result of a miracle finds no
confirmation in the ruins themselves. The older Hebrew account,
however, in their judgment agrees perfectly with the evidence
revealed by the spade of the excavator. In imagination it is easy
to follow the perilous journey of the Hebrew spies and to
appreciate the importance of the negotiations by which they secured
the c