Overview

Vered Yericho is a Judean fort that dates to the end of the Kingdom of Judah, the late seventh – early sixth century BCE. The fort should perhaps be associated with an excavated site 3 kilometers to the north on the southern bank of the Wadi Qelt. That site is perhaps the remains of Iron Age Jericho. Vered Yericho is located on a narrow spur of the northern bank of the Wadi es-Suweid, south of the ancient tell and the modern city of Jericho.

The fort at Vered Yericho was excavated by Avraham Eitan for the Staff Officer for Archaeology in Judea and Samaria. It is a symmetrical rectangular structure, 20 by 24 meters in size. It is faced by two towers that project beyond a two chamber gate that gives entry into a central courtyard. Past the courtyard, the fort consists of two parallel units built on the plan of a four-room house. Stairs in the courtyard indicate that the fort was two stories high. Within the fort, the excavator discovered a Hebrew inscription on an ostracon and a one-meter long iron sword. The fort was destroyed in a conflagration.