Already in the Bronze Age, Tell-el-Hammam in what is now Jordan was one of the first flourishing ancient metropolises.
There has been much speculation as to whether this city could have been the biblical Sodom. Like the place mentioned in the holy book, Tell-el-Hammam was destroyed virtually overnight by a mysterious disaster. Scientists believe they have found the cause.
In its heyday, Tell-el-Hammam in what is now Jordan must have been a city of unimaginable splendor by the standards of the time. The first megacity in the southern Levant, so to speak, with a vast area of over 60 hectares. Traces of the earliest settlement date back to approximately 6600 BC.
At the height of its power, the city-state dominated the entire region until it was destroyed virtually overnight around 1650 BC. And it is this event that repeatedly sparks speculation as to whether Tell-el- Hammam may be the Sodom described in the Bible.
According to a detailed study published in the journal Scientific Reports, extensive excavations have been ongoing since 2006 at the site where Tell-el-Hammam once stood. However, it was not until 2021 that the scientists involved published their findings.
Among other things, they discovered that the ancient metropolis was probably destroyed by an unprecedented natural disaster. The parallels to the destruction of the biblical city of Sodom, which according to Christian belief was destroyed by God like its "sister" city of Gomorrah, are astonishing.
God's punishment on Sodom
Various media, such as Geo, report that God wanted to punish the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah for their vile, sinful lives.
The Bible says in the Book of Genesis, "Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah."
Scientists are now certain that a very similar scenario must have occurred at Tell-el-Hammam almost 3,600 years ago. The meteorite explosion probably destroyed the city, completely preventing the entire region from being populated for about 600 years.
According to the report, this event was comparable in power to the meteorite explosion over Tunguska in Russia in 1908. Then, a 50-metre boulder shook the earth with the force of over 1,000 Hiroshima bombs.
However, according to scientists, the event at Tell-el-Hammam was even more devastating. According to them, the meteorite could have exploded several kilometers above the city. Immediately after this, a huge temperature of over 2,000 degrees was created, which instantly killed all life and virtually melted all infrastructure.
Scientists have doubts
As a result, all buildings in the city, some as high as five stories, burned down almost immediately. The shock wave from the explosion, stronger than any tornado ever measured, literally wiped it out. The previously rich soil became barren. Settlement in approximately 120 villages within a 25-kilometre radius of the disaster site was prevented for at least 300 years. Tell-el-Hammam, previously the most prosperous and powerful metropolis in the southern Levant, ceased to exist in one fell swoop.
In Smithsonian Magazine, a scientist involved in the city's study said, "All observations reported in the Bible are consistent with a cosmic explosion. But there is no scientific evidence that Tell-el-Hammam is the Sodom described in the Old Testament."
Indeed, other scientists have serious doubts about this version, as Christianity Today reports. According to the Bible, the "real" Sodom was probably located in a different geographic location. The next "evidence" presented by skeptics is also astonishing.
According to scientists, it is therefore quite possible that the disaster was observed by eyewitnesses (from a safe distance). They could then pass on their impressions orally, and the story could be recorded in the Bible long later.
It is at least conceivable that an apocalypse of such unprecedented proportions could also serve as "inspiration" for Scripture.
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This article was originally published on Onet Travel.