The oldest city in the world. The most ancient cities in the world

The oldest cities in Europe are located mostly in Greece and the island of Crete. According to excavations by scientists, Greece can be considered the cultural cradle of humanity.

What are the oldest cities in Europe? It is impossible to answer this question unambiguously. Is the old city the one that is ancient and has many attractions, or the one where life was in full swing before the construction of major buildings?

Although the information will surprise many, Zurich can be considered one of the old cities. People settled in this area long before our era, 4.5 thousand years ago. The city of Zurich began to take its first shape in the 1st century AD. Then a trading post was formed in this place. The name of the place was Turikum. By 853, an abbey, Fraumünster, was founded in this area. By the 11th century, his rights were finally established - the Duchy of Swabia was established. He was allowed to print coins. And the main city of the abbey became Zurich. As everybody medieval cities it had a fortress wall, a moat, and other necessary paraphernalia for protection from external invasion.

But the main championship, as the oldest cities in Europe, is held by Greek cities.

Of course, here you need to start with Athens, the city that was founded Greek gods. Scientists argue about the time of its appearance: 5000 BC or 4000? The city is rich in cultural treasures that have survived to this day, including the Acropolis, the palace located on Syntagma Square, and many surviving statues.

The Greek city of Argos is not inferior to Athens in terms of its founding. It also preserves many ancient monuments, among which the most popular is the temple of one of the main Greek Goddesses- wives Supreme God Zeus - Hera.

Judging by the architectural structures, the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv was rebuilt not much later. Some scientists even give primacy to its first settlers, believing that the first buildings appeared a century earlier than in Athens. One of the most popular attractions of the city is the central mosque. Its foundation is the rise of the Roman Empire.

Compared to these “plesiosaurs” of history, Chania, the Cretan city, is very young. The date of its formation is approximately 1.5 centuries BC. Currently, numerous tourists flock to this city to enjoy the quaint Venetian atmosphere. Since ancient times, the city has preserved numerous alleys where the first pirates once roamed.

The Cypriot city of Larnaca closes the list of the most ancient buildings. He is the youngest. The first buildings appeared in it 1.4 thousand years BC, but it offers tourists ruins only from the 13th century.

How do the oldest cities in Europe live now? Great importance has a tourism business for them. Travelers from all over the world rush to these cities to experience history.

Memphis, Babylon, Thebes - all of them were once the largest centers, but only the name remains of them. However, there are cities that have existed throughout human history, from the Stone Age to the present day.

Jericho (West Bank)

At the very foot of the Judean Mountains, opposite the confluence of the Jordan into the Dead Sea, is located the most ancient city on earth - Jericho. Traces of settlements dating back to the 10th-9th millennium BC were found here. e. It was a permanent site of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A culture, whose representatives built the first Wall of Jericho. Defense structure Stone Age was four meters high and two meters wide. Inside it was a powerful eight-meter tower, which was obviously used for ritual purposes. Its ruins have survived to this day.

The name Jericho (in Hebrew Yericho), according to one version, comes from the word meaning “smell” and “fragrance” - “reach”. According to another, from the word moon - “yareah”, which could have been revered by the founders of the city. We find the first written mention of it in the book of Joshua, which describes the fall of the walls of Jericho and the capture of the city by the Jews in 1550 BC. e. By that time, the city was already a powerful fortified fortress, whose system of seven walls was a real labyrinth. Not without reason - Jericho had something to protect. It was located at the crossroads of three important trade routes of the Middle East, right in the middle of a flourishing oasis with a lot of fresh water and fertile soil. For the inhabitants of the desert, this is a real promised land.

Jericho was the first city to be captured by the Israelites. It was completely destroyed, and all the inhabitants were killed, with the exception of the harlot Rahab, who had previously sheltered the Jewish scouts, for which she was spared.

Today, Jericho, located in the West Bank of Jordan, is a disputed territory between Palestine and Israel that remains in an area of ​​constant military conflict. Therefore, visiting the most ancient and rich in historical sights of the city is not recommended.

Damascus: “Eye of the Desert” (Syria)

Damascus, the current capital of Syria, is fighting for first place with Jericho. The earliest mention of it was found in the list of conquered cities of Pharaoh Thutmose III, who lived in 1479-1425 BC. e. In the first book of the Old Testament, Damascus is mentioned as a large and well-known center of trade.

In the 13th century, the historian Yaqut al-Humawi argued that the city was founded by Adam and Eve themselves, who, after being expelled from Eden, found refuge in the cave of blood (Magarat ad-Damm) on Mount Qasyoun on the outskirts of Damascus. The first murder in history, described in Old Testament– Cain killed his brother. According to legend, the self-name Damascus comes from the ancient Aramaic word “demshak”, which means “brother’s blood”. Another, more plausible version says that the name of the city goes back to the Aramaic word Darmeśeq, translated as “well-watered place.”

It is not known for certain who first founded the settlement near Mount Kasyun. But recent excavations in Tel Ramada, a suburb of Damascus, have shown that people settled the area around 6300 BC. e.

Byblos (Lebanon)

Rounding out the top three ancient cities– Byblos, known today as Jebeil. It is located on the shore Mediterranean Sea 32 km from Beirut, the current capital of Lebanon. It was once a large Phoenician city, founded in the 4th millennium BC, although the first settlements in this area date back to the later stone age– VII millennium.

The ancient name of the city is associated with the legend of a certain Byblis, who was madly in love with her brother, Kavnos. She died of grief when her lover fled to escape sin, and her shed tears formed an inexhaustible source of water that watered the city. According to another version, byblos in Greece was the name for papyrus that was exported from the city.

Byblos was one of the largest ports of the ancient era. It was also known for the spread of the cult of Baal there, the formidable Sun god, who “demanded” self-torture and bloody sacrifices from his followers. The written language of ancient Byblos still remains one of the main mysteries of the Ancient World. Proto-Byblos writing, widespread in the second millennium BC, is still indecipherable; it is unlike any of the known writing systems of the Ancient World.

Plovdiv (Bulgaria)

The oldest city in Europe today is considered to be not Rome or even Athens, but the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, located in the southern part of the country between the Rhodope and Balkan mountains (the home of the legendary Orpheus) and the Upper Thracian Lowland. The first settlements on its territory date back to the 6th-4th millennia BC. e., although Plovdiv, or rather, then still Eumolpiada, reached its heyday under the peoples of the sea - the Thracians. In 342 BC. it was captured by Philip II of Macedon, the father of the famous Alexander, who named it Philippopolis in his honor. Subsequently, the city managed to be under Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman rule, which made it the second cultural center in Bulgaria after Sofia. In world history, Derbent became an unspoken “blockpost” between Europe and Asia. One of the most important sections of the Great Silk Road lay here. It is not surprising that it has always been a favorite object of conquest for its neighbors. The Roman Empire showed great interest in him - main goal campaigns to the Caucasus by Lucullus and Pompey in 66-65 BC. it was Derbent. In the 5th century AD e. When the city belonged to the Sassanids, powerful fortifications were erected here to protect against nomads, including the Naryn-Kala fortress. From it, located at the foot of the mountain range, two walls descended to the sea, designed to protect the city and trade route. It is from this time that the history of Derbent as a large city dates back.

The most ancient cities in the world - some of them disappeared from the face of the earth forever, leaving only ruins and memories. And there are settlements whose names have paved a long way in history and have survived to this day. Their streets are full of architectural sights, magnificent in their beauty and monumentality, looking at which you are mentally transported back to the depths of centuries.

Jericho is the oldest city on Earth

The Judean Hills dominate the West Bank. At their foot, at the mouth of the river flowing into the Dead Sea, is the ancient city in the world - Jericho. On its territory, archaeologists have discovered fragments of ancient buildings dating back to 9500 BC. e.

The history of this settlement was described in the Old Testament. It is also mentioned in Roman chronicles. There is a legend that Jericho was brought as a gift to Cleopatra by Mark Antony. But magnificent buildings in this city were built by King Herod, who received rule over this city from the Emperor of Rome, Augustus. It was during his era that many monuments appeared ancient architecture, preserved in this city to this day.
There are also records that Christian church appeared in Jericho in the first century AD. Constant raids by Bedouins and hostility between Muslims and knights led to the decline of the city by the 9th century. AD In the 19th century, the Turks destroyed the once prosperous center ancient world Jericho.

It was only in 1920 that the oldest city in the world, Jericho, received its second life. Arabs began to populate it. Now it is permanently home to approximately 20,000 people.

The main attraction is the Tel es-Sultan hill, on which stands a tower dating back to the 6000th century. BC.

Nowadays, military operations are constantly taking place in Jericho, a disputed land between Palestine and Israel. For this reason, the beauty of this place is hidden from tourists. At the very least, the governments of many countries do not recommend their citizens to visit it.

Famous surviving cities of antiquity

Over the course of many centuries, civilizations developed and cities appeared. Some of them were destroyed as a result of wars or natural Disasters. Few of the most ancient cities in the world, which have survived multiple eras, can still be visited today:

On earth, which are named as the most ancient cities in the world. Many of them are still being destroyed today, despite the establishment of special protection regimes. international organization UNESCO.

According to scientists, modern man descended from a small population of homo sapiens that survived a terrible natural disaster that occurred 74,000 years ago and spread across the African continent. After 10-14 thousand years, its members penetrated into Asia, and even later into Europe and America.

With the advent of agriculture, people stopped wandering and began to found villages. Over time, they grew, and around the 7th millennium, the most ancient cities in the world began to emerge.

Some terminology

Before talking about the oldest cities in the world, you should find out what is meant by this definition. In particular, as a result of archaeological excavations on different continents, many large settlements were found. However, today it is customary to call the ancient cities of the world only those that have never been abandoned by their inhabitants since their founding. At the same time, some scientists continue to argue over whether the “age” should not be counted from the moment when a given settlement ceased to be a village, i.e. number of residents involved agriculture, became less than the number of peasants. Based on these considerations, many ancient cities will become several thousand years younger.

Jericho

Be that as it may, today it is customary to answer the question of what is the most ancient city in the world by calling Jericho. The first traces of humans found on its territory date back to the 10th millennium BC. e., and the oldest buildings excavated by archaeologists - by the year 95,000. The history of Jericho can be traced in some detail in the Old Testament, and later it is repeatedly mentioned in the Roman chronicles. In particular, it is known that it was presented by Mark Antony as a gift to Cleopatra. However, later Emperor Augustus gave it to King Herod, who built many magnificent structures there. In addition, there are records that a Christian church was built in Jericho in the first centuries AD.

Having existed until the 9th century, the city fell into decline due to the wars of Muslims with the Crusaders and Bedouin raids, and from the 13th century it turned into a small Muslim village, destroyed in the 19th century by the Turks. Only at the beginning of the 1920s was the irrigation system restored in the territory of Jericho. After this, these places began to be inhabited by Arabs.

Today Jericho is not Big city with a population of just over 20,000 people, located in the unrecognized State of Palestine. Its main attraction is the Tel es-Sultan hill with a tower believed to be 9 thousand years old.

Damascus

As already mentioned, when the most ancient cities in the world are listed, the list usually begins with Jericho. But the second position in this ranking belongs to Damascus. The city was founded in 2500 BC. e. However, scientists believe that its territory has been continuously inhabited by people since the 10th millennium BC. e. From the 15th century BC. e. at different periods the city was under the rule of the Egyptian pharaohs, Assyria, Israel, Persia and other powerful states of that time. The history of Damascus is no less interesting and more late time. In particular, it is known that after the visit of St. Apostle Paul, just a few years after the crucifixion of the Savior, there was already a Christian community in the city, and in the Middle Ages it was stormed three times, but the crusading knights were never able to capture it. Like the most ancient city in the world, Jericho, Damascus lay in ruins for some time. The fault was the troops of Tamerlane, who invaded Syria in 1400 and carried out a terrible massacre, the consequences of which did not allow Damascus to regain its former power for many years.

The most ancient city in the world according to ancient historians

Scientists learned about the true age of Jericho only in the second half of the last century, and before that, in different eras, completely different cities laid claim to this title. For example, in ancient world It was believed that Byblos, which appears in the Old Testament under the name Gebal, was founded earlier than others. It has been mentioned as a city since the 4th millennium BC. e. Many legends are associated with it. For example, the ancient Egyptians believed that it was there that Isis found the body of the god Osiris. In addition, Jebel (the Arabic name for Byblos) is known as the site of various ancient cults, such as those worshiping Baal and Adonis. Since it was here that most of the papyrus produced in the ancient world was produced, the first books made from such “paper” began to be called byblos.

Athens

Interestingly, the capital of Greece does not claim to be the most ancient city in the world, since it was founded only around 1400 BC. e. It is known that even in the Mycenaean era there was a palace and a fortified settlement there. For thousands of years, Athens was the main educational and cultural center of the ancient world and did not lose this role even in Roman times. Today you can see many architectural monuments there, which are several thousand years old. Moreover, in terms of their number, Athens is far superior to other ancient cities on the planet.

Rome

Oddly enough, Rome, which has been called eternal for thousands of years, is not included in the list of the 10 most ancient cities in the world, since it was founded in 753 BC. e. However, it is obvious that settlements existed in its place many millennia before. It’s just that if historians get information about the origin of other cities from archaeological excavations, the “birthday” of Rome was “calculated” in the first century based on the legend about the sons of Mars and Princess Rhea Silvia - Remus and Romulus.

The most ancient cities in the world: Yerevan

Few people know that the capital of Armenia, or more precisely, the city of Erebuni that existed in its place, is 29 years older than Rome. Moreover, this fortress has a quite significant, both literally and figuratively, “birth certificate” signed by its founder, Argishty, the son of Menua. We are talking about a stone with cuneiform writing, which in 1894 the famous Russian anthropologist A. Ivanovsky acquired from one of the Armenian peasants. The inscription on the boulder was deciphered, and it turned out that it reports the construction of a large granary by King Argishta the First. More than half a century later, on the outskirts of Yerevan, on the Arin-berd hill, excavations were carried out and two more slabs were found, one of which already touched the base of the fortress. In addition, another “Erebuni metric” was found, already embedded in the wall of the fortress, some of the buildings of which have been perfectly preserved to this day. In particular, today in the Erebuni fortress, recognized by Forbes as the 9th oldest in the world, you can see the ruins of the Susi temple, with cuneiform tablets of King Argishti, the wall of the sanctuary of the god Khaldi with beautiful wall paintings, an ancient stone water supply system and much more.

Derbent

When talking about the most ancient cities in the world, one cannot fail to mention the Russian Derbent. Judging by archaeological finds, a settlement in its place existed as early as the 4th millennium BC. e. and was repeatedly raided. As for the name Derbent, it was first found by Herodotus in a document of the 5th century. It is also known that in the first century AD, in order to capture this city, which was considered the gateway to the Caspian Sea, the Romans and Persians, who fought for dominance in the Caucasus and adjacent regions, organized campaigns.

Now you know which is the most ancient city in the world, some interesting information about Damascus, Derbent, Yerevan, Byblos and other cities.

Many ancient cities claim the right to be called the first city on Earth. We will talk about the two oldest and most ancient cities, according to archaeologists and historians. These two cities are Jericho and Hamukar. These cities existed thousands of years ago.

Jericho

First of all, the definition of “ancient city” refers to Jericho, an oasis near the place where the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. The city of Jericho, widely known in the Bible, is located here - the same one whose walls once fell from the sound of the trumpets of Joshua.

According to biblical tradition, the Israelites began the conquest of Canaan from Jericho and, after the death of Moses, under the leadership of Joshua, crossing the Jordan, they stood at the walls of this city. The townspeople, hiding behind the city walls, were convinced that the city was impregnable. But the Israelis used an extraordinary military stratagem. They walked around the city walls in a silent crowd six times, and on the seventh they shouted in unison and blew the trumpets, so loudly that the formidable walls collapsed. This is where the expression “Trumpet of Jericho” comes from.

Jericho is fed by the water of the powerful spring Ain es-Sultan (“Source of the Sultan”), to which the city owes its existence. The Arabs call the name of this source a hill north of modern Jericho - Tell es-Sultan (“Mountain of the Sultan”). Already in late XIX century, it attracted the attention of archaeologists and is still considered one of most important places archaeological finds of objects from the early historical period.

In 1907 and 1908, a group of German and Austrian researchers, led by Professors Ernst Sellin and Karl Watzinger, first began excavations at Mount Sultana. They came across two parallel fortress walls, built from sun-dried bricks. Exterior wall had a thickness of 2 m and a height of 8-10 m, and the thickness of the inner wall reached 3.5 m.

Archaeologists have determined that these walls were built between 1400 and 1200 BC. It is clear that they were quickly identified with those walls that, as the Bible reports, collapsed from the powerful sounds of the trumpets of the Israelite tribes. However, during excavations, archaeologists came across the remains construction waste, which were of even greater interest to science than the findings that confirmed the Bible’s information about the war. But the first World War suspended further scientific research.

More than twenty years passed before a group of Englishmen, led by Professor John Garstang, was able to continue their research. New excavations began in 1929 and lasted about ten years.

In 1935-1936 Garstang encountered the lowest layers of Stone Age settlements.

He discovered a cultural layer older than the 5th millennium BC, dating back to a time when people did not yet know pottery. But people of this era already led a sedentary lifestyle.

The work of Garstang's expedition was interrupted due to the difficult political situation. And only after the end of World War II did English archaeologists return to Jericho. This time the expedition was led by Dr. Kathleen M. Canyon, with whose activities all further discoveries in this the oldest city peace. To participate in the excavations, the British invited German anthropologists who had been working in Jericho for several years.

In 1953, archaeologists led by Kathleen Canyon managed to make outstanding discovery, which completely changed our ideas about early history humanity. Researchers made their way through 40 (!) cultural layers and discovered buildings of the Neolithic period with huge buildings dating back to the time when, it would seem, only nomadic tribes should have lived on Earth, earning their food by hunting and collecting plants and fruits. The results of excavations showed that approximately 10 thousand years ago a qualitative leap was made in the eastern Mediterranean associated with the transition to the artificial cultivation of cereals. This led to drastic changes in culture and lifestyle.

The discovery of early agricultural Jericho was an archeological sensation in the 1950s. Systematic excavations here revealed a whole series of successive layers, united into two complexes: Pre-ceramic Neolithic A (8th millennium BC) and Pre-ceramic Neolithic B (7th millennium BC).

Today, Jericho A is considered the first urban settlement discovered in the Old World. Here are found the earliest permanent structures known to science, burials and sanctuaries, built from earth or small round unbaked bricks.

The pre-ceramic Neolithic settlement A occupied an area of ​​about 4 hectares and was surrounded by a powerful defensive wall made of stone. Adjacent to it was a massive round stone tower. Initially, researchers assumed that this was a tower of a fortress wall. But obviously, it was a special-purpose structure that combined many functions, including the function of a guard post for monitoring the surrounding area.

Protected by a stone wall, there were round, tent-like houses on stone foundations with walls made of mud brick, one surface of which is convex (this type of brick is called "pork's back"). To more accurately determine the age of these structures, the latest scientific methods, for example, the radiocarbon (radiocarbon) method.
Nuclear physicists, when studying isotopes, found that it is possible to determine the age of objects by the ratio of radioactive and stable carbon isotopes. Through sounding, it was found that the oldest walls of this city date back to the 8th millennium, that is, their age is approximately 10 thousand years. The sanctuary discovered as a result of excavations was even more ancient - 9551 BC.

There is no doubt that Jericho A, with its settled population and developed construction industry, was one of the first early agricultural settlements on Earth. Based on the many years of research carried out here, historians received a completely new picture of the development and technical capabilities that humanity had 10 thousand years ago.

The transformation of Jericho from a small primitive settlement with miserable huts and huts into a real city with an area of ​​at least 3 hectares and a population of more than 2000 people is associated with the transition of the local population from simple gathering of edible cereals to agriculture - growing wheat and barley. At the same time, researchers have established that this revolutionary step was taken not as a result of some kind of introduction from the outside, but was the result of the development of the tribes living here: archaeological excavations of Jericho showed that in the period between the culture of the original settlement and the culture of the new city, which was built at the turn 9th and 8th millennia BC, life here did not stop.

At first, the town was not fortified, but with the advent of strong neighbors, fortress walls became necessary to protect against attacks. The appearance of fortifications speaks not only of the confrontation between different tribes, but also of the accumulation by the inhabitants of Jericho of certain material values ​​that attracted the greedy gaze of their neighbors. What were these values? Archaeologists have answered this question as well. Probably the main source of income for the townspeople was barter trade: the well-located city controlled the main resources of the Dead Sea - salt, bitumen and sulfur. Obsidian, jade and diorite from Anatolia, turquoise from the Sinai Peninsula, cowrie shells from the Red Sea were found in Jericho - all these goods were highly valued during the Neolithic period.

The fact that Jericho was a powerful urban center is evidenced by its defensive fortifications. Without the use of picks and hoes, a ditch 8.5 m wide and 2.1 m deep was cut into the rock. Behind the ditch rose stone wall 1.64 m thick, preserved at a height of 3.94 m. Its original height probably reached 5 m, and above it was masonry made of mud bricks.

During excavations, a large round stone tower with a diameter of 7 m was discovered, preserved to a height of 8.15 m, with internal staircase, carefully assembled from solid stone slabs a meter wide. The tower contained grain storage and clay-lined cisterns to collect rainwater.

The stone tower of Jericho was probably built at the beginning of the 8th millennium BC. and lasted for a very long time. When it ceased to be used for its intended purpose, crypts for burials began to be built in its internal passage, and the former storage facilities were used as dwellings. These rooms were often rebuilt. One of them, destroyed in a fire, dates back to 6935 BC

After this, archaeologists counted four more periods of existence in the history of the tower, and then the city wall collapsed and began to erode. Apparently, the city was already deserted at this time.

The construction of a powerful defensive system required an enormous amount of labor, the use of significant work force and the presence of some central authority to organize and direct the work. Researchers estimate the population of this first city in the world at two thousand people, and this figure may be underestimated.

What did these first citizens of the Earth look like and how did they live?

An analysis of the skulls and bone remains found in Jericho showed that 10 thousand years ago, short people - just over 150 cm - with elongated skulls (dolichocephalians), who belonged to the so-called Euro-African race, lived here. They built oval-shaped dwellings from lumps of clay, the floors of which were recessed below ground level. The house was entered through a doorway with wooden jambs. There were several steps leading down. Most houses consisted of a single round or oval room with a diameter of 4-5 m, covered with a vault of intertwined rods. The ceiling, walls and floor were covered with clay. The floors in the houses were carefully leveled, sometimes painted and polished.

The inhabitants of ancient Jericho used stone and bone tools, did not know ceramics and ate wheat and barley, the grains of which were ground on stone grain grinders with stone pestles. From eating too much food, which consisted of cereals and legumes ground in stone mortars, these people’s teeth completely wore out.

Despite a more comfortable habitat than that of primitive hunters, their life was extremely difficult, and average age the inhabitants of Jericho did not exceed 20 years. Infant mortality was very high, and only a few lived to be 40-45 years old. There were obviously no people older than this age in ancient Jericho.

The townspeople buried their dead right under the floors of their homes, wearing iconic plaster masks with cowrie shells inserted into the eyes of the masks on their skulls.

It is curious that in the oldest graves of Jericho (6500 BC) archaeologists for the most part Headless skeletons are found. Apparently, the skulls were separated from the corpses and buried separately. The cultic beheading is known in many parts of the world and has been practiced down to our time. Here, in Jericho, scientists apparently encountered one of the earliest manifestations of this cult.

During this “pre-ceramic” period, the inhabitants of Jericho did not use earthenware - they replaced it with stone vessels, carved mainly from limestone. Probably, the townspeople also used all kinds of wickerwork and leather containers like wineskins.

Not knowing how to sculpt pottery, the ancient inhabitants of Jericho also sculpted animal figures and other images from clay. In residential buildings and tombs of Jericho, many clay figurines of animals were found, as well as stucco images of the phallus. The cult of masculinity was widespread in ancient Palestine, and its images are found in other places.

In one of the layers of Jericho, archaeologists discovered a kind of ceremonial hall with six wooden pillars. It was probably a sanctuary - a primitive predecessor of the future temple. Inside this room and in its immediate vicinity, archaeologists did not find any household items, but they found numerous clay figurines of animals - horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and models of male genital organs.

The most amazing discovery in Jericho was the stucco figurines of people. They are made from local limestone clay called "hawara" with a reed frame. These figurines are of normal proportions, but flat in front. Nowhere, except for Jericho, have such figurines been encountered by archaeologists before.

Life-size group sculptures of men, women and children were also found in one of the prehistoric layers of Jericho. They were made using cement-like clay, which was spread on a reed frame. These figures were still very primitive and flat: after all, plastic art was preceded for many centuries by rock paintings or images on cave walls. The found figures show how much interest the inhabitants of Jericho showed in the miracle of the origin of life and the creation of a family - this was one of the first and most powerful impressions of prehistoric man.
the emergence of Jericho - the first urban center - indicates the emergence tall forms public organization Even the invasion of more backward tribes from the north in the 5th millennium BC. could not interrupt this process, which ultimately led to the creation of highly developed ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Middle East.

Hamukar

The ruins of a city that scientists believe is at least 6,000 years old have been discovered in Syria. The discovery actually changed traditional ideas about the appearance of cities and civilization on Earth in general. It forces us to consider the spread of civilization in a new light, starting from an earlier time. Before this discovery, cities dating back to 4000 BC were discovered only in ancient Sumer - between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the territory of modern Iraq, while the last, most ancient, was found in the southeastern part of Syria under a huge hill near the village of Hamukar . The mysterious city was also named Hamukar.

For the first time, archaeologists began to actively dig the ground here back in the 1920s -1930s. Then they assumed that it was here that Vashshukani was located - the capital of the Mitanni Empire (approximately the 15th century BC), which had not yet been discovered. But no signs of settlement of this area were found then - the “Vashshukan theory” turned out to be untenable.

Many years passed, and scientists again became interested in this place. And not in vain: after all, it is located on one of the most important transport arteries of antiquity - the road from Nineveh to Aleppo, along which travelers and caravans of merchants stretched. This situation, according to scientists, provided a lot of advantages and created excellent preconditions for the development of the city.

Researchers actually discovered signs indicating its existence back in the middle of the 4th millennium BC.

Then the first cities arose one after another in Southern Iraq, and their colonies were formed in Syria.

This time, archaeologists were determined - in the most literal sense - to get to the bottom of the truth. A special Syrian-American expedition was formed to explore Hamukar, the director of which was McGuire Gibson, a leading researcher at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. The first shovel hit the ground in November 1999. The expedition needed to get used to it, settle in, prepare the excavation area, hire local residents for heavy work...

It all started with the compilation detailed map terrain. And only then, with her help, archaeologists began the next, no less painstaking stage of work: it was necessary to carefully - almost with a magnifying glass in hand - examine the entire excavation area, collecting various shards. Such studies would provide a fairly accurate idea of ​​the size and shape of the settlement. And luck really smiled on archaeologists - ancient cities hidden in the ground “fell out” as if from a cornucopia.

The first settlement found dates back to approximately 3209. BC. and occupied an area of ​​about 13 hectares. Gradually it grew, its territory increased to 102 hectares, and subsequently the settlement became one of largest cities that time. Then, based on the items found, other, most interesting places for excavations. In the eastern part of the settlement, archaeologists discovered a building in which pots were fired. And the main result of the inspection of the area was the discovery of a large settlement south of the hill. Its more detailed study confirmed that this territory began to be populated at the beginning of the 4th millennium BC. If all the discovered settlements are recognized as one city, then its area will be more than 250, which is hard to believe. At that time, in the era of the birth of the first urban settlements, such a large city was a real metropolis of antiquity.

Satellites have helped scientists well. The photographs taken from them gave the researchers another idea when, 100 m from the hill, on its northern and eastern sides, they discerned a dark, twisting line, similar to a city wall, while only a small slope was visible on the ground. Further examination showed that the wall could have been located closer to the hill, and the slope was preserved from a ditch that supplied the city with water.

Excavations were carried out in three zones. The first is a trench 60 m long and 3 m wide, running along the northern slope of the hill. Its gradual digging made it possible for archaeologists to examine the development of the settlement in different eras, since each step was 4-5 m lower than the next. So: the lowest layer that scientists reached showed a city 6000 years ago!

On the next level, walls of several houses made of clay bars were discovered, as well as a huge, possibly city wall, 4 meters high and 4 meters thick. The remains of pottery underneath date back to the middle of the 4th millennium BC. Next comes a level dating back to 3200 BC. Ceramics from here refer to the creativity of the peoples of Southern Iraq, which indicates the interaction of the Syrian and Mesopotamian peoples at that time.

These houses are followed by “younger” buildings, built in the 3rd millennium BC. There are already baked brick houses and wells here. Directly above one of the houses there is a later building - from the mid-1st millennium - and then there is a modern cemetery.

Another excavation area was replete with shards. It was divided into sections of five square meters And they carefully “shoveled” all the earth. Archaeologists have discovered houses here with perfectly preserved clay walls. And inside there were a huge amount of things for a long time days gone by- all covered with a thick layer of ash. This created great difficulties for scientists: try to find burnt fragments in the cracks of the floors, in various irregularities and holes.

Soon the sources of such abundant ash were found - in one room the remains of four or five slabs made of clay bars, which were partially burned when the stoves were heated, were excavated. Around the slabs there were remains of barley, wheat, oats, and animal bones. Therefore, power stoves are used for baking bread, brewing beer, cooking meat and other products.

The ceramics discovered here amazed scientists with their diversity: large pots for preparing ordinary food, small vessels, as well as small elegant vessels, the walls of which are equal to the thickness of an ostrich egg shell. Figurines with large eyes were also found in the houses, possibly some deities from the middle of the 4th millennium BC.

But still, 15 seals in the form of carefully drawn animals tell the most complete story about the society of that era. All of them were found in one hole, presumably a grave. Also found here were a huge number of beads made of bone, faience, stone and shells, some of which were so small size, which can be assumed: they were not used as necklaces, but were woven or sewn into clothing.

The seals are carved from stone in the shape of animals. One of the largest and most beautiful seals is made in the form of a leopard, the spots on which are made using small pins inserted into drilled holes. A seal was also found, not inferior to a leopard print in beauty - in the form of a horned animal, which, unfortunately, the horns broke off. Large seals are much more varied, but there are far fewer of them than small ones, the main types of which are lion, goat, bear, dog, hare, fish and birds. The larger, more elaborate seals must have belonged to people of great power or wealth, while the smaller ones may have been used by others to denote private property.

In a small pit two meters deep in the north-eastern part of the excavation, just below the surface, the researchers discovered a wall dating back to the 7th century. AD, and a meter lower - the corner of the building, strengthened by a support with two niches. The support was installed next to the door that leads to the east. The door jamb, buttress, niches and south wall are covered with lime. Typically, such supports with niches were installed not near private, but near temple buildings. Shards of pottery found near the temple point to the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, that is, the Akkadian period, when the rulers of Akkad, a state in southern Mesopotamia, began expanding into what is now Syria. Since this is a critical period in the history of Mesopotamia, the place where so many eras are intertwined becomes the main focus of the expedition's forces in the next season.

Previously, historians assumed that the Syrian and Turkish states began to actively develop only after contact with representatives of Uruk - ancient state in Southern Iraq. But the excavations of Hamukar prove that highly developed societies appeared not only in the Tigris-Euphrates valley, but also in other areas at the same time. Some researchers even believe that civilization originally began in Syria. The discovery actually changed traditional ideas about the emergence of cities and civilization in general, forcing us to consider its birth and spread at an earlier time.

While it was previously believed that civilization began in the Uruk period (ca. 4000 BC), there is now evidence of its existence as far back as the Ubaid period (ca. 4500 BC). This means that the development of the first states began before the advent of writing and other phenomena considered criteria for the emergence of civilization. Between different peoples Vital connections began to form, people exchanged experiences. Civilization began to march across the planet with leaps and bounds!

The excavations of Hamukara promise many more discoveries, because this is the only place where the layers of 4000 BC. lie two meters from the surface and even higher.

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