Asteroid explosion linked to Biblical destruction of Sodom
According to the Bible, the Canaanite city of Sodom was destroyed by a "rain of sulphur and fire." Nowadays, scientists suggest that such an event could have actually happened, as the ancient city may have been obliterated by an asteroid explosion thousands of years ago.
Sodom is mentioned several times in the Book of Genesis. The Old Testament text indicates that God rained fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah for the sins of its inhabitants, destroying the entire area along with the people and vegetation: "Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus, he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land."
Some researchers identify the biblical Sodom as Tall el-Hammam, an ancient Bronze Age city in present-day Jordan. According to them, the city was destroyed by an asteroid explosion that could have been about 1,000 times stronger than the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
The destruction of the ancient city
Scientists from the universities of Santa Ana and Albuquerque in the USA stated that around 1650 BCE, a cosmic rock might have appeared over the city, travelling at a speed of 61,000 kilometres per hour. The explosion could have occurred at a height of about 4,000 metres above the ground, destroying Tall el-Hammam. This event resembled the Tunguska catastrophe of 1908 in Siberia.
Researchers reconstructed the sequence of events, suggesting that the inhabitants could have seen a blinding flash in the sky. Subsequently, the temperature rose to over 2,000 degrees Celsius, and the city went up in flames. A few seconds later, a shockwave travelling at 1,200 kilometres per hour could have destroyed nearby Jericho.
Eight thousand inhabitants perished. The area was not repopulated until six centuries later.
Disasters in the biblical context
American scientists base their conclusions on a discovered layer of ceramic debris with melted glass. This indicates that the local inhabitants could not have generated such extreme temperatures, suggesting a catastrophe at this location.
A fire caused by an invasion was ruled out, as there are no traces of weapons near Tall el-Hammam. Changes in the rock structure resemble processes occurring in meteorite craters. It is also noteworthy to mention the possibility that around 2,800 years ago, the City of David in Jerusalem might have experienced an earthquake described in the Books of Amos and Zechariah.
A team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered a destroyed layer from the 8th century BCE in the City of David National Park, which may correspond to the times of King Uzziah and the earthquake mentioned in the Bible.
