【简译】早期耶利哥（亦作艾里哈、杰里科或耶律哥）

The city of Jericho is remembered for the story in the Book of Joshua in the Bible regarding its destruction by the Israelites. Excavations have revealed that Jericho is one of the earliest settlements dating back to 9000 BCE. It also has the oldest known protective wall in the world. Continuing excavations have revealed stone towers which are even older. The reason for its earliest settlements are the springs which are found in and near the city. These springs supply the area with enough water to sustain a large population. We are going to cover the settlement of Jericho from its earliest beginnings until The Battle of Jericho in the Bible.

          耶利哥城因《圣经》中《约书亚记》关于以色列人摧毁它的故事而被人们记住。考古挖掘发现，耶利哥是人类最早的定居点之一，它的历史可以追溯到公元前9000年。耶利哥城还拥有世界上已知最古老的保护墙。考古学家们还发现了更古老的石塔。认定其为最早的定居点之一的原因是在城内和附近发现了泉水的痕迹。这些泉水为该地区提供了足够的水源来维持大量的人口。我们将介绍耶利哥定居点，从它最早开始到《圣经》中的耶利哥之战。

第一个定居点

Jericho started as a popular camping ground for the hunter-gathers of the Natufian culture dating to 10000 BCE. It wasn't until the cold and drought caused by the last Ice Age, or Younger Dryas, came to an end around 9600 BCE that year-round habitation and permanent settlements began in the area. Tell es-Sultan (Sultan's Hill), 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) north of modern-day Jericho, became the earliest permanent settlement. It was a Pre-Pottery Neolithic (New Stone Age) settlement. It is situated on the Ein as-Sultan spring (later called Elisha's Spring) supplying it with water. By about 9400 BCE the settlement grew to include more than 70 homes. These circular dwellings measured 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter and were built with clay and straw.

          耶利哥一开始是纳图夫文化的狩猎者-采集者钟爱的露营地，这里的历史可以追溯到公元前10000年。直到公元前9600年左右，最后一个冰河时期（或称新仙女木期，指距今12800年至11500年的一段持续1300年左右的冰期。）造成的寒冷和干旱结束后，该地区才开始有了全年居住和永久性定居点。位于现代耶利哥北部2公里（1.2英里）的Tell es-Sultan（苏丹山）成为当地最早的永久性定居点。它是一个前陶器时代（新石器时代）的定居点。它位于为其供水的Ein as-Sultan泉（后来被称为以利沙之泉，先知之泉）上。到了大约公元前9400年，该定居点发展到包括70多所房屋。这些圆形住宅的直径为5米（16英尺），用粘土和稻草建造。

耶利哥之墙

Archaeological evidence reveals that by 8000 BCE, the site grew to 40,000 square meters (430,000 square feet) and was surrounded by a stone wall 3.6 meters (11.8 feet) high and 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) wide at the base. Inside the wall was a stone tower 8.5 meters (28 feet) high and 9 meters (30 feet) wide at the base. The tower had an internal staircase with 22 steps. The only older towers than this one have been found at Tell Qaramel in Syria. It is thought that the wall was used to protect the settlement from flood waters. The tower was used for ceremonial purposes. This suggests that there was a social organization happening in the town. Some scholars believe that the tower was used to motivate people into taking part in the communal lifestyle. Estimates vary on the population with a low of 300 to a high of 3000. At this time the inhabitants domesticated wheat, barley and legumes. It is highly probable that irrigation had been invented to provide enough land for the cultivation of these crops. They supplemented their diet by hunting wild animals.

          考古证据显示，到公元前8000年，耶利哥遗址扩大到40000平方米（43万平方英尺），被一堵高3.6米（11.8英尺）、底宽1.8米（5.9英尺）的石墙包围。墙内是一座高8.5米（28英尺）、底宽9米（30英尺）的石塔。该塔有一个内部楼梯，有22个台阶。唯一比这个更古老的塔楼是在叙利亚的泰尔·卡拉梅尔（Tell Qaramel）发现的。人们认为，这堵墙是用来保护定居点不受洪水侵袭或用于某种仪式。这表明耶利哥曾存在某种社会组织关系。一些学者认为，该塔是用来激励人们参与社区生活方式的。考古学家们对这里人口的估计各不相同，最少有300人，最高则有3000人。当时，居民们驯化了小麦、大麦和豆类。他们很可能是为了提供足够的土地来种植这些作物而发明了灌溉。他们通过猎杀野生动物来补充自己的食物。

第二个定居点

After a few centuries, the first settlement was abandoned. Around 7000 BCE, a second settlement was established by an invading people that absorbed the original inhabitants into their culture. It too was a Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement. This new settlement expanded the range of domesticated plants. There is evidence for the possible domestication of sheep at this time. Buildings were rectilinear structures made of mudbricks. Each building consisted of several rooms situated around a central courtyard. The rooms had terrazzo floors made of lime and the courtyard had a floor made of clay. Other advancements include flints in the shape of arrowheads, sickle blades, burins (used as chisels), scrapers, and axes. Also found were grindstones, hammerstones, and axes made of greenstone. Dishes and bowls were carved from soft limestone. The greatest distinction of this culture was that they kept the heads of deceased relatives by plastering the skulls and painting the features of the person on it. These skulls were kept in the home and the rest of the body was buried. This settlement lasted until about 6000 BCE. There is then little evidence of occupation at Jericho for at least 1000 years.

          几个世纪后，第一个定居点被遗弃了。大约在公元前7000年，一个入侵的民族建立了第二个定居点，将原来的居民吸收到他们的文化中。这也是一个前陶器时代的新石器时代定居点。这个新定居点扩大了驯化植物的范围。有证据表明，在这个时期人们可能驯化了羊。这个时期的建筑物是由泥砖制成的直线型结构。每座建筑由几个房间组成，房间围绕着一个中央庭院。房间里有石灰制成的水磨石地板，院子里有粘土制成的地板。其他较为先进的东西包括箭头形状的燧石、镰刀、錾子（用作凿子）、刮刀和斧头。此外，考古学家们还发现了青石制成的磨石、锤石和斧头。盘子和碗是由材质柔软的石灰石雕刻而成。这种文化最大的特点是，他们把已故亲属的头颅用石膏贴在上面，并在上面画上人的特征。这些头骨被保存在家中，身体的其余部分被埋葬。这种定居方式一直持续到公元前6000年左右。此后，在至少1000年的时间里，几乎没有关于耶利哥被占领的证据。

青铜时代：耶利哥的陷落

After this, new settlements were established in Jericho periodically. These settlements were still Neolithic, but there is evidence that they were producing pottery. It became a walled town again at the end of the 4th millennium BCE. Evidence shows that the walls have been rebuilt many times. The largest of these settlements was constructed in 2600 BCE by the Amorites. About 2300 BCE, there was once more a break in the occupation of the site. It was taken over by the Canaanites in 1900 BCE and reached its greatest prominence between 1700 BCE and 1550 BCE. This was due to the rise of aristocrats that utilized chariots called the Maryannu in the Mitannite state to the north. Their rise caused a greater urbanization in the surrounding area, including Jericho. By this time, there were two walls around the city in a double enclosure made of mud brick. The outside wall rested on top of a stone base. Though they were impressive in size, they were not stable. Bronze Age Jericho fell in the 16th century around 1573 BCE when it was violently destroyed by an earthquake. Charred wood found at the site suggests that the remains of the city were burned. Buried food supplies also suggest that it was not captured following a siege. It remained unoccupied until the late 10th century or early 9th century BCE when it was rebuilt.

          在这之后，新的定居点群在耶利哥建立。这些定居点仍然是新石器时代的，但有证据表明他们开始生产陶器。在公元前四千年末，它又成为一个有墙的城镇。考古证据显示，城墙曾多次被重建。其中最大的定居点是在公元前2600年由亚摩利人建造的。大约在公元前2300年，该地的占领再次出现中断。公元前1900年，它被迦南人占领，并在公元前1700年至公元前1550年之间成为当地最重要的据点之一。这是由于在北边的米坦尼，使用称为战车射手的贵族的崛起。他们的崛起导致了包括耶利哥在内的周边地区的城市化进程加快。这时，城市周围有两道墙，是用泥砖砌成的双层围墙。外面的墙是建立在一个石基之上的。虽然它们的规模令人印象深刻，但它们并不稳定。青铜时代的耶利哥在公元前1573年左右沦陷，当时它被一场地震猛烈地摧毁了。考古学家们在遗址发现的烧焦的木材表明，城市有被烧毁的痕迹。埋藏的食物供应也表明它不是在围攻后被占领的。地震后，这里一直无人居住，直到公元前10世纪末或9世纪初才被重建。

以色列人与耶利哥之战

According to the Bible, at around 1,400 BCE, Jericho was the first city attacked by the Israelites after they crossed the Jordan River and entered Canaan. The Wall of Jericho was destroyed when the Israelites walked around it for seven days carrying the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day, Joshua commanded his people to blow their trumpets made of rams' horns and shout at the walls until they finally fell down. Excavations of the site reveal a network of collapsed walls that date to around the late 17th century or early 16th century BCE. The most likely cause of the collapse was an earthquake. Descriptions of later earthquake destruction (1267 CE & 1927 CE) match the description of the collapsed walls in the Bible. In each description, the cliffs above the Jordan River fell into the river and dammed it up. It also reveals that Jericho was unoccupied from the late 15th century to around the 10th century BCE. Non-Biblical Scholars now believe that the Bible story is an allegory. The story was written sometime after 722 BCE, long after the date of the event, and was used to claim the territory for the Kingdom of Israel. Biblical Scholars point to the destruction of the walls 175 years earlier as proof that the story in the Bible is true. They state that the only thing amiss is the dating in the Bible and that the earthquake was God rewarding the Israelites for following his commands. According to the Bible, Jericho remained abandoned until Hiel the Bethelite established himself there in the 9th century BCE.

          根据《圣经》所述，在公元前1400年左右，耶利哥是以色列人渡过约旦河进入迦南地后攻击的第一个城市。当以色列人抬着约柜在耶利哥城墙上走了七天后，耶利哥城墙被摧毁。第七天，约书亚命令他的子民吹响用公羊角做成的喇叭，向城墙呼喊，直到城墙最终倒下。考古学家对该遗址的挖掘发现了一个倒塌的墙网，其年代大约是在公元前17世纪末或16世纪初。坍塌的最可能原因是地震。对后来地震破坏的描述（公元1267年和公元1927年）与《圣经》中对倒塌城墙的描述一致。在描述中，约旦河上方的悬崖都掉进了河里，把河水拦截了。这也揭示了耶利哥从公元前15世纪末到公元前10世纪左右是无人居住的。非信教学者认为，圣经故事是一个寓言故事。这个故事是在公元前722年之后的某个时候写的，比事件发生的日期晚了很久，并被用来为以色列王国要求领土。信教学者指出，城墙在175年前被毁，证明《圣经》中的故事是真实的。他们说，唯一有问题的是《圣经》中的年代，地震是上帝对以色列人遵守他命令的奖励。根据《圣经》，我们可以了解到耶利哥一直被遗弃；直到公元前9世纪，伯特利人Hiel在那里重建了耶利哥。

参考书目：

"Ancient Jericho: Tell es-Sultan". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2012.Accessed 1 Dec 2016.

"Chariot Armies Of The Ancient Near East", theancientneareast.comAccessed 1 Dec 2016.

"Jericho", Encyclopædia Britannica.Accessed 1 Dec 2016.

"Jericho", Vassar.eduAccessed 1 Dec 2016.

Steven Mithen. After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20,000-5000 BCE. Harvard University Press, 2006.

原文网址: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/951/early-jericho/