The first excavation of the mound called Tell Es-Sultan (Jericho) was started in 1907 by Ernst Sellin. Following that John Garstang began work on the same site in 1930. In 1952 Katheen Kenyon began her own excavation in addition to which she also dug a trench across the site to test the findings of archaeologists who had gone before her. Her conclusions were “there is no proof at all in the ruins of Jericho concerning the taking of the city by Joshua as recorded in the Bible.” Kenyon discovered there was no city with walls as described in the Bible in the Book of Joshua. The evidence found in the Late Bronze age or Early Iron Age (the time frame set under the Old Chronology) shows nothing more than a small village with no large walls surrounding it. Kenyon concluded that the story of Joshua conquering the city of Jericho was a myth.
John Bimson has analysed the details of the Biblical story of the conquest of Jericho in the light of the New Chonology according to Rohl and has recorded his findings in his book, Redating the Exodus and the Conquest. The significant difference is that he has used the correct time frame for the conquest by the Israelites – I.e the Mid Bronze Period. This is in accord with David Rohl’s theory that the time period of the reigns of the Pharaohs are shorter than claimed by 350 years. This has meant the archaeologists have been looking in the wrong place. They have been looking in the period of time when the large city was already destroyed and there was nothing left.
Bimson has found proof that Jericho was indeed attacked and destroyed during the Mid Bronze Period by the Israelites. He has undertaken research far wider that just the site of Tell Es Sultan – the Jericho ruins. He carried out archaeological research on all of the towns mentioned in the Bible connected with the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land. His conclusion is that the Biblical story is in accord with the archaeological evidence and tells a consistent story across all sites mentioned. The towns which are listed in the Bible as being burnt were indeed all burnt during the Mid Bronze Period. All the towns noted as being passed over by the Israelites and left untouched according to archaeological evidence were not burnt or destroyed at all. There is also abundant evidence that the walls of Jericho fell into a trench dug around the city to protect it from attack. The remains of the walls fell into the trench making it easy for the Israelites to charge straight into the town and captured it as is recorded in Joshua 6:20.
There is no conflict between what is recorded in the Bible and the archaeological findings. The archaeologists only have to look in the correct layer of the Tell at the right time.
David Rohl’s revolutionary New Chronology is the key to harmonising both accounts – The Bible and Archaeology.