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he site is made up of several low hills on both sides of wadi Qelt. It is located right at the southern entrance of Jericho, at the point where wadi Qelt meets the plateau of Jericho. The site can be reached either from the main Jerusalem-Jericho road, or better via the old road to Jericho which lines the wadi. The oldest discoveries at Tulul Abu Al Alaieq date back to the Chalcolithic period 4500-3100BC, but the most impressive remains are either from the Hellenistic or the Roman periods in date. In Roman times, Jericho was a garden of fruit and palm trees, it was given as a gift to Cleopatra by Mark Antony. The city reached its peak under Herod the Great who built his winter palace at the site of Tulul Abu Al Alaieq. This palace is the best preserved and the most impressive structure at the site which seems to have served as the administrative center of the town of Jericho at that time. It was built on both sides of the wadi to allow the inhabitants to enjoy the scene of the waters of the wadi in winter. A huge garden of palm trees and Balsam measuring 11000m² was found during excavation works on the site to the north of the palace. It was called the Royal Garden. The foundations of a wall surrounding the complex, several workshops, pools, |
