Record #00326Human Society archive
Jericho is a leading contender for the oldest continuously inhabited city, supported by exceptionally early settlement remains at nearby Tell es-Sultan. Definitions of urban status and continuity of occupation remain contested, so no unique holder can be established conclusively.
Current Record
over11,000years
Current record value
Disagreement and differing conclusions：The Guinness estimate exceeding 11,000 years is not a year-by-year demonstration of unbroken urban habitation. Early archaeological activity is not a city foundation date, and modern Jericho and Tell es-Sultan must not share one coordinate as though they were the same site. The holder remains disputed, not a UNESCO-certified sole winner.
View verification detailsUNESCO's World Heritage listing for Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan describes traces of human activity from around 10,500 BCE. By the ninth to eighth millennia BCE, a substantial permanent settlement had emerged with a wall, ditch, and tower, illustrating early social organization.
The archaeological sequence records multiple phases of occupation, which do not by themselves establish unbroken habitation across the entire period. The relation between the ancient tell and the modern city must also be distinguished from the question of when a city, rather than a settlement, began.
Damascus also has a very long urban history and is described by UNESCO as one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities. This does not directly refute Jericho's claim. Prehistoric activity, permanent settlement, urban formation and uninterrupted habitation are different measures, so an early archaeological date alone cannot determine a unique winner.
There is a documented substantive disagreement about measurement, comparison boundaries or the record conclusion.
Basis: documented substantive disagreement
Guinness identifies Jericho as the oldest continually inhabited city and estimates more than 11,000 years. UNESCO distinguishes human activity at Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan around 10,500 BCE, a permanent settlement in the ninth to eighth millennia BCE, and later urban development; it separately calls Damascus one of the oldest continually inhabited cities. These statements apply different archaeological and urban-history criteria; they are not mutually exclusive certifications of different sole winners. The dispute concerns definitions of a city, links between ancient and modern places, and proof of truly uninterrupted habitation.
The Guinness estimate exceeding 11,000 years is not a year-by-year demonstration of unbroken urban habitation. Early archaeological activity is not a city foundation date, and modern Jericho and Tell es-Sultan must not share one coordinate as though they were the same site. The holder remains disputed, not a UNESCO-certified sole winner.
Guinness World Records
Jericho has been inhabited for more than 11,000 years
Who / What / Record description
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
特尔苏丹具有可追溯约公元前10500年的活动遗存，公元前9—8千纪已有规模较大的永久聚落；支持杰里科作为最早城市候选，但不能单独证实连续居住世界第一。
Brief synthesis
Current Entry identifies the current entry in this archive; it does not establish that the record is still held today.
The record value on this page is organized from the public sources above. Measurement methods may differ; JiLuDB follows the unified method described for each entry.
Help keep the archive accurate
If a fact has changed, a value is incorrect, or you know a more authoritative source, leave a note. Feedback enters an administrator review workflow and never edits a record directly.
ARCHIVE VISUAL / 01
NOT TO SCALE
