Cite this garden Gleason, K., and E. Netzer (2021). "Palace of John Hyrcanus I." Gardens of the Roman Empire, accessed June 18, 2026. https://roman-gardens.github.io/id/0a9a4ef076/

Palace of John Hyrcanus I

Published: 2021-04-21
Last modified: 2026-06-08

Dates

120 BCE - 103 BCE

Garden Description

Erected on the southern margin of the royal estate around 120 BCE, north of Wadi Qelt, the palace has not yet been studied in its entirety, since at a later stage most of it was buried (Fig 2 area AA). At its center lay a courtyard measuring (25 x 18m) flanked by rooms on three sides, probably bedrooms and reception rooms. Although the inner courtyard lacked any archaeological evidence for vegetation, sections of walls and clay pipes suggest that the building was surrounded by orchards and gardens, some of which might have been formal.

Over the years, two swimming pools (probably one for men and one for women), each measuring 10 x 9 m. and 3 m. deep, were added to the palace building (Fig 2 area AB). Each pool had a broad flight of stairs along one of its sidewalls leading down to the bottom, and both had benches built into the tops of the side walls. The pools were probably surrounded by paved plazas with installations for the use of the bathers.

Plans

Figure 2: The plantations and Hasmonean palace buildings, Area AA represent the location of the the buried Palace.(K. Wilczak and K. Gleason, after Netzer 2001a: Plan 4; Netzer and Laureys-Chachy 2004: Plan 2)

Images

Figure 3: The palace of King Hyrcanus I in Jericho the palace, the garden and the swimming pools
Credit: (Netzer 1999).

Bibliography

  • G. Garbrecht, and E. Netzer, "Die Wasserversorgung des geschichtlichen Jericho und seiner koniglichen Anlagen," in Mitteilungen (aus dem Leichtweiss-Institut fur Wasserbau) 115, Braunschweig/Jerusalem 1991 worldcat
  • K. Gleason, "Garden Excavations at the Herodian Winter Palace in Jericho, 1985-1987", Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society, Vol. 7, 1987-8 Jstor
  • K. Gleason, "A Garden Excavation in the Oasis Palace of Herod the Great at Jericho," Landscape Journal 12.2 (1993):156-67wordcat
  • J. Kelso, James L. and Dimitri Baramki, "Excavations at New Testament Jericho and Kirbet en-Nitla," Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 29-30 (1949-51): 38-39
  • E. Netzer, The Palaces of the Hasmoneans and Herod the Great, Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society, 1999: 13-64 wordcat
  • Nielsen, Inge, Hellenistic Palaces,1994, 195-201 wordcat
  • E. Netzer, The Hasmonean and Herodian Palaces at Jericho: Final Reports of the 1973-1987 Excavations, Vol. 1, Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 2001 : 287-298 worldcat
  • E. Netzer, and Garbrecht G, "Water channels and a royal estate of the late Hellenistic period in Jericho's eastern plains," in D. Amit, J. Patrich and Y.; Hirschfeld, eds, The Aqueducts of Israel. 353-365. JRA Supplement 46, R.I. 2002 worldcat
  • J. Pritchard, "The Excavation at Herodian Jericho, 1951," The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 32-3 (1952-4): 56-58. worldcat

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