Historical Sites and Ruins

This collection spans millennia of history, featuring Herod the Great’s mountain fortress at Herodion and the early Islamic architecture of Hisham's Palace, home to one of the world's largest mosaic floors. Explore the Neolithic roots of Tell as-Sultan in Jericho, the Hasmonean desert strongholds of Hyrcania and Dok, and the caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. These sites preserve the architectural legacies of Canaanite, Roman, and Byzantine civilizations across the landscape.

Historical Sites and Ruins — Map

Asaf T. / Public domain

A

Herodion Ruins

Herodion, Herodium, or Jabal al-Fureidis is an ancient fortress located 12 kilometres south of Jerusalem and 5 kilometres southeast of…

A. Sobkowski / Public domain

B

Qasr Hisham

Hisham's Palace, also known as Khirbat al-Mafjar, is an important early Islamic archaeological site in the city of Jericho, in the West…

Reinhard Dietrich / Public domain

C

Tell as-Sultan

Tell es-Sultan, also known as Tel Jericho or Ancient Jericho, is a UNESCO-nominated archaeological site in the West Bank, located adjacent…

Gustave Doré / Public domain

D

Khirbet Tel Ai

Ai was a Canaanite city. According to the Book of Joshua in the Hebrew Bible, it was conquered by the Israelites on their second attempt.

E

Emmaus Nicopolis

Emmaus Nicopolis, was the Roman name for one of the towns associated with the Emmaus of the New Testament, where Jesus is said to have…

Yuvalr / CC BY-SA 4.0

F

Boundary marker

A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary…

G

Kesem cave

Qesem cave is a Lower Paleolithic archeological site near the city of Kafr Qasim in Israel.

H

Roman Forum

Located in ancient Sebastia, these remains comprise a large paved area originally surrounded by a colonnade. Built during the Roman period under Herod the Great, the forum served as the central civic and commercial heart of the city.

tomerp / CC BY-SA 3.0

I

Hurkania

Hyrcania was an ancient fortress in the Judean Desert. It was built by Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus or his son Alexander Jannaeus in the…

J

Beit Loya ruins

Khirbet Beit Lei or Beth Loya is an archaeological tell in the Judean lowlands of Israel.

K

Bayt Nuba

Bayt Nuba was a Palestinian Arab village, located halfway between Jerusalem and al-Ramla.

patrick brennan / CC BY 2.0

L

Qumran cave

These limestone caves are the site of the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient Jewish religious manuscripts. The caves are situated on a marl plateau adjacent to the ruins of the Qumran settlement.

Diego Delso / CC BY-SA 3.0

M

The Dok Fortress

A Hasmonean-era desert fortress situated atop the Mount of Temptation. It was the site where Simon Maccabaeus was assassinated in 134 BCE and provides a strategic vantage point overlooking the Jericho oasis and the Jordan Valley.

Sarah Murray / CC BY-SA 2.0

N

Chalcolithic Temple

The Chalcolithic temple of Ein Gedi is a Ghassulian public building dating from about 3500 BCE.

עמיחי / CC-BY-SA-3.0

O

Palestine Exploration Fund

The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance…

Effi Schweizer / Public domain

P

Arafat Mausoleum

See Muqata'ah for the Ottoman instrument for financing state expenses.

מיכאלי / CC BY-SA 3.0

Q

Habikka memorial

A monumental sculpture designed by artist Yigal Tumarkin, this site commemorates Israeli soldiers who fell in the Jordan Valley. The abstract steel and concrete structure is positioned near the Petza'el junction.