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Jericho. She is in the West Bank, in the middle of the conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis, a region too tumultuous for an old lady. Mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, the city has been destroyed and abandoned several times and recent studies show that it may be over 10,000 years old. The archaeological site where ancient Jericho was located is half a kilometer from the modern one and has only a few uninhabited ruins. Among them, those of an old stone wall, probably built in 8000 BC “The wall proves that it was not a village, but a real city”, says Egyptologist Antonio Brancaglion, from the University of São Paulo (USP) .
From the length of the wall, it is possible to calculate that around 3,000 inhabitants roamed the streets of ancient Jericho. In this dispute for longevity, Damascus, the capital of Syria, is also in the running, with the title of oldest city that has never ceased to be inhabited. Excavations prove a continuous occupation of more than 5000 years.
Dozens of other cities, with similar ages, claim the same position, among them, Beirut, in Lebanon, Cairo, in Egypt, and Sanaa, in Yemen. But so far, none has been able to prove that it was founded before Damascus.
Cadiz, Spain (1100 BC)
Cuzco, Peru (1000 AD)
Jenne-jeno, Mali (250 BC)
Damascus (3000 BC)
Baghdad (762 AD)
Jericho (8000 BC)
The oldest cities in the world
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