Excavations at Jericho show walls collapsed outward (Joshua 6)
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2025 11:14 am
The idea that excavations at Jericho show walls collapsed outward, matching the story in Joshua 6 where the Israelites marched around the city and its walls fell, is a fascinating but contentious topic. The biblical account describes a dramatic event: after seven days of circling and trumpet blasts, “the wall fell down flat” (Joshua 6:20), allowing the Israelites to storm in. Some have looked to archaeology for evidence, specifically walls collapsing outward, as proof. Let’s sift through what’s been found and what it means.
### Kathleen Kenyon’s Excavations (1950s)
The most thorough modern dig at Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) was led by Kathleen Kenyon from 1952-1958. She found evidence of massive mudbrick walls from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1200 BCE), the rough timeframe often tied to the biblical conquest (c. 1400 BCE or 1200 BCE, depending on dating debates). Kenyon noted a collapsed section of wall at the city’s northern end, with debris sloping outward. This “outward collapse” caught attention because, in theory, a wall breached by attackers (like a siege) might fall inward from battering rams or tunneling. An outward fall could suggest something unusual—like an earthquake or, for some, a miracle.
Her findings included a lower retaining wall and an upper mudbrick wall that had tumbled down the slope, with debris spilling outward. She also found signs of burning atop the rubble—charred timber, ash, and reddened bricks—echoing Joshua 6:24’s account of the city being torched after the collapse.
### John Garstang’s Earlier Work (1930s)
Before Kenyon, John Garstang excavated Jericho in the 1930s and was more bullish about matching it to Joshua. He claimed a double wall—inner and outer—had collapsed outward, with the inner wall falling over the outer one down the city’s slope. He dated this to around 1400 BCE, citing pottery and scarabs, and pointed to burn layers as evidence of Joshua’s conquest. His photos show mudbrick debris cascading outward, which he tied directly to the Bible.
### Why “Outward” Matters
In military sieges, walls typically fall inward when breached—attackers push or pull them down from outside. An outward collapse could imply a different force, like seismic activity (common in the Jordan Rift Valley) or, as some speculate, divine intervention. Joshua 6 doesn’t specify direction, but “flat” might suggest a total leveling, which outward debris could fit visually.
### The Problems
Kenyon herself debunked a direct Joshua link. She dated the destruction she found to around 1550 BCE—too early for most biblical timelines (1400 BCE or 1200 BCE). She argued Jericho was largely abandoned by the time of Joshua, with no Late Bronze Age city walls standing to collapse. The “outward” debris she found was from an earlier period, likely tied to an earthquake, not the Israelite conquest. Pottery and occupation layers from 1400-1200 BCE were sparse, suggesting no major city existed then to match the story.
Garstang’s claims don’t hold up either. Later analysis of his pottery and dates shifted his destruction layer earlier, and his “double wall” idea oversimplified the site’s complex stratigraphy. His outward collapse evidence was real, but the timing doesn’t align.
### Alternative Views
Some, like Bryant Wood, argue Kenyon got it wrong. Wood re-dated her burn layer to 1400 BCE, citing Canaanite pottery and a radiocarbon sample (c. 1410 BCE), claiming it fits Joshua. He points to the outward debris and fire as consistent with the text. Critics counter that his sample size is small and the lack of Late Bronze occupation still undermines a big walled city then.
### What’s the Evidence Say?
- **Outward Collapse**: Yes, there’s evidence of walls falling outward at Jericho—mudbrick debris slopes down and out in spots. Kenyon and Garstang both saw it.
- **Timing**: The rub is the date. The clearest collapse and burning predate Joshua by centuries (1550 BCE). Late Bronze layers show no comparable walled city.
- **Cause**: Earthquakes are plausible—Jericho’s on a fault line. No archaeological signature screams “miracle” or “marching and trumpets.”
### Bottom Line
Excavations do show walls collapsed outward at Jericho, but not when Joshua’s story likely happened. The dramatic debris and fire fit the biblical imagery, but the timeline clashes.
### Kathleen Kenyon’s Excavations (1950s)
The most thorough modern dig at Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) was led by Kathleen Kenyon from 1952-1958. She found evidence of massive mudbrick walls from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1200 BCE), the rough timeframe often tied to the biblical conquest (c. 1400 BCE or 1200 BCE, depending on dating debates). Kenyon noted a collapsed section of wall at the city’s northern end, with debris sloping outward. This “outward collapse” caught attention because, in theory, a wall breached by attackers (like a siege) might fall inward from battering rams or tunneling. An outward fall could suggest something unusual—like an earthquake or, for some, a miracle.
Her findings included a lower retaining wall and an upper mudbrick wall that had tumbled down the slope, with debris spilling outward. She also found signs of burning atop the rubble—charred timber, ash, and reddened bricks—echoing Joshua 6:24’s account of the city being torched after the collapse.
### John Garstang’s Earlier Work (1930s)
Before Kenyon, John Garstang excavated Jericho in the 1930s and was more bullish about matching it to Joshua. He claimed a double wall—inner and outer—had collapsed outward, with the inner wall falling over the outer one down the city’s slope. He dated this to around 1400 BCE, citing pottery and scarabs, and pointed to burn layers as evidence of Joshua’s conquest. His photos show mudbrick debris cascading outward, which he tied directly to the Bible.
### Why “Outward” Matters
In military sieges, walls typically fall inward when breached—attackers push or pull them down from outside. An outward collapse could imply a different force, like seismic activity (common in the Jordan Rift Valley) or, as some speculate, divine intervention. Joshua 6 doesn’t specify direction, but “flat” might suggest a total leveling, which outward debris could fit visually.
### The Problems
Kenyon herself debunked a direct Joshua link. She dated the destruction she found to around 1550 BCE—too early for most biblical timelines (1400 BCE or 1200 BCE). She argued Jericho was largely abandoned by the time of Joshua, with no Late Bronze Age city walls standing to collapse. The “outward” debris she found was from an earlier period, likely tied to an earthquake, not the Israelite conquest. Pottery and occupation layers from 1400-1200 BCE were sparse, suggesting no major city existed then to match the story.
Garstang’s claims don’t hold up either. Later analysis of his pottery and dates shifted his destruction layer earlier, and his “double wall” idea oversimplified the site’s complex stratigraphy. His outward collapse evidence was real, but the timing doesn’t align.
### Alternative Views
Some, like Bryant Wood, argue Kenyon got it wrong. Wood re-dated her burn layer to 1400 BCE, citing Canaanite pottery and a radiocarbon sample (c. 1410 BCE), claiming it fits Joshua. He points to the outward debris and fire as consistent with the text. Critics counter that his sample size is small and the lack of Late Bronze occupation still undermines a big walled city then.
### What’s the Evidence Say?
- **Outward Collapse**: Yes, there’s evidence of walls falling outward at Jericho—mudbrick debris slopes down and out in spots. Kenyon and Garstang both saw it.
- **Timing**: The rub is the date. The clearest collapse and burning predate Joshua by centuries (1550 BCE). Late Bronze layers show no comparable walled city.
- **Cause**: Earthquakes are plausible—Jericho’s on a fault line. No archaeological signature screams “miracle” or “marching and trumpets.”
### Bottom Line
Excavations do show walls collapsed outward at Jericho, but not when Joshua’s story likely happened. The dramatic debris and fire fit the biblical imagery, but the timeline clashes.