Hasmonean royal winter palaces

The Hasmonean royal winter palaces are a complex of Hasmonean and Herodian buildings from the Second Temple period, which were discovered in the western Jericho valley at 'Tulul Abu al-'Alayiq near the entrance to Wadi Qelt and the Roman road going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Two tells are located on either side of Wadi Qelt.

The palaces are evidence of the luxurious lifestyle of the Hasmonean dynasty and of Herod the Great. They made extensive use of swimming pools, bathhouses, ornamental gardens and orchards. The palaces were not far Jerusalem – 20 km along the ancient Roman road.

The site was excavated in the 19th century by Charles Warren, who attempted to locate the place of Biblical Jericho. After making an archaeological trench, he concluded that this site is from the Roman period. Additional excavations were conducted by the Germans Ernst Sellin and Carl Watzinger, in 1910–1911, but the results have never been published. In 1950, two expeditions from the United States dug on the site. An ornamental garden with magnificent remains from the time of Herod was discovered north of the southern tell, and labeled "the sunken garden." Farther north were discovered the remains of a building, identified as a gymnasium.

After the Yom Kippur War in 1973, extensive excavations were conducted on site by archaeologist Ehud Netzer. The excavations continued for ten seasons and covered an area of 30 hectares. The excavations also revealed remains of aqueducts to the west of Jericho. At the oasis of Jericho, Netzer uncovered new wings of Herod's winter palace, as well as a Hasmonean (Maccabean) winter palace containing a number of swimming pools and gardens. The complex includes the Jericho Synagogue, built 70–50 BC and identified as one of the oldest synagogues ever found.

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