Jericho (2)

Jericho For a description of Tell es-Sultan, supposed to be the site of the ancient city, see the Memoirs accompanying the Ordnance Survey (3:222). The following account of the locality in general is from Conder, Tent Work, 2:2 sq.:

"Reaching Jericho we were again disappointed. The long groves, which appear so charming at a distance, are entirely complosed of thorny shrubs. The dom or zizyphus grows into a tree, with small green leaves and formidable prickles; the nebk, another species, forms long hedges of brier, of which it is said the cruel 'crown of thorns' was woven, for which reason it is called spina Christi. The zakkion, or balsam-tree (balanites), is equally thorny, and beneath these grow poisonous nightshade and other noxious plants. The distant beauty of the groves is only a mockery, and the environs of Jericho, when reached, are as stony and unlovely as any other part of the country.