Snapshots from the past: discoveries and destruction in the Jericho Oasis

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the rich archaeological landscape of the Jericho Oasis, drawing on historical aerial photography and more recent satellite imagery to survey this cultural landscape and assess issues affecting its preservation over the past century. The timing of the paper is pertinent as non-U.S. satellite companies have recently begun to produce higher resolution satellite imagery of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), and restrictions on imagery resolution in the U.S. have been lowered as a result of research by the EAMENA project. Whilst increasingly widespread availability of high-resolution satellite imagery and orthophotos can effectively support heritage monitoring in this heavily-developed region, this paper demonstrates that it is the use of historical aerial photography that has enabled the identification of a range of previously unrecognized archaeological features. These new data offer a first tentative step in revising our current understanding of the development of human settlement across the Jericho Oasis.