In the biblical version of the event, Joshua and his men lay siege on the fortified city for seven days. On the seventh day, they blow their trumpets and its walls come crashing down. The Israelites raze the city, killing every man, woman and child. Today, the city of Jericho lays claim as one of the oldest cities in the world. Here, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of over twenty settlements, including an ancient city dating to the late Bronze Age that shows clear signs of destruction.
However, the widely accepted scholarly opinion was that it was destroyed in 1550 BC—long before the time of the Israelite conquest. If there was no city at the time of Joshua, is the story mere fiction? For Bryant Wood, Jericho is an archaeological puzzle waiting to be solved. On re-examining the evidence that was excavated, Wood, an expert in Canaanite pottery, dated its destruction to ca. 1400 BC—the time of the Israelite Conquest.