Hasmonean and Herodian Palaces at Jericho

At the mouth of Wadi Qelt, where the canyon opens onto the plain of Jericho, the Hasmonean dynasty and later Herod the Great built a series of winter palaces that were among the most luxurious residences in the ancient world. The palaces took advantage of Jericho’s warm winter climate and abundant spring water to create estates with gardens, swimming pools, bathhouses, and reception halls that rivaled anything in Rome.

Hasmonean Palaces

The Hasmonean dynasty built the first palaces at this site over several generations. The earliest construction is attributed to John Hyrcanus I (reigned 134–104 BCE), who established a modest winter residence near the springs. His successors Alexander Jannaeus and his wife Salome Alexandra expanded the complex significantly, adding a grand swimming pool, reception halls, and ritual immersion baths (mikva’ot), reflecting the Hasmoneans’ dual identity as both kings and priests. The site was excavated over many seasons by Hebrew University archaeologist Ehud Netzer, whose meticulous work revealed at least three distinct Hasmonean building phases before Herod’s transformation of the site. The palaces included a swimming pool that, according to the historian Josephus, was the site of one of the most notorious murders in Jewish history: Herod arranged for the young high priest Aristobulus III, the last male heir of the Hasmonean dynasty, to be “accidentally” drowned in the pool during a party. Aristobulus was just 17 years old. The pool has been excavated, and standing beside it, the story of the murder is chillingly vivid.

Herod’s Palace

Herod built his own palace complex on both sides of Wadi Qelt, connected by a bridge. The northern wing contained reception halls and a Roman-style bathhouse. The southern wing included a large garden surrounded by columns, a sunken garden with a pavilion, and a swimming pool. The complex was designed to impress visiting dignitaries and to provide Herod with a private retreat from Jerusalem. It was in the Jericho palace that Herod died in 4 BCE, the event that triggered the return of the Holy Family from Egypt: “After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt” (Matthew 2:19).

Gardens and Water System

The most remarkable feature of the Jericho palaces was their water supply. Aqueducts channeled water from the springs of Wadi Qelt and Na’aran to the palace complex, feeding pools, fountains, and elaborate gardens. Herod’s palace included a sunken garden (opus sectile floor fragments have been found) surrounded by a colonnade, designed in the style of Roman villas. Date palms, balsam plants, and ornamental gardens surrounded the buildings. The balsam of Jericho was one of the most valuable commodities in the ancient world, and the royal gardens were a source of enormous wealth. When Cleopatra visited the region, she reportedly coveted the balsam groves and pressured Mark Antony to give them to her.

Herod’s Roman-Style Bathhouse

The Roman-style bathhouse in Herod’s palace was one of the finest in the region, with a frigidarium (cold room), tepidarium (warm room), and caldarium (hot room) heated by a hypocaust system beneath the floor. The bathhouse was decorated with frescoes and stucco in the Second Pompeian Style, fragments of which survive. For a king who had been educated in Rome, the bathhouse was not a luxury but a necessity, and it signaled to visitors that Jericho was as civilized as any city in the empire.

Ehud Netzer’s Decades of Excavation

The site was excavated primarily by Ehud Netzer of Hebrew University over decades of work, from the 1970s until his death in 2010. (Netzer, fittingly, died in a fall at Herodium, another Herodian site he had spent his career excavating.) His work revealed the foundations of multiple building phases, elaborate water systems, the opus reticulatum masonry, a Roman decorative wall technique so rare outside Italy that Herod must have imported the craftsmen, and the pools and gardens described by Josephus. The site is open but undeveloped, without a visitor center or interpretive signage, which gives it a raw, archaeological atmosphere.

Visit with Hoshen Tours

The Hasmonean and Herodian palaces at Jericho reveal the luxury and power of two royal dynasties. Hoshen Tours pairs them with the wider story of Jericho, the Mount of Temptation, the ancient synagogue at the Shalom Al Yisrael Synagogue, and the monastery of Deir Hajla Monastery.