ANALYSIS – Recent years have spawned an explosion of remarkable archaeological finds, many of which may be changing key areas of our understanding of our human history and even of the Bible.
Most recently, archaeologists appear to have found the Biblical city of Sodom, destroyed by God with sulfur and fire for its perversity and sinfulness.
About 3,600 years ago, Tall el-Hammam in the Jordan Valley thrived as a city, surpassing both Jerusalem and Jericho in size and strength. However, its prosperity abruptly vanished.
Based on the evidence, scientists have concluded that the ancient city couldn't have been destroyed by fire, volcano or war. That left a massive space rock or meteor as the most likely cause.
As Smithsonian Magazine noted in 2021:
Because experts failed to find a crater at the site, they attributed the damage to an airburst created when a meteor or comet traveled through the atmosphere at high speed. It would have exploded about 2.5 miles above the city in a blast 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb used at Hiroshima, writes study co-author Christopher R. Moore, an archaeologist at the University of South Carolina, for the Conversation.
“Air temperatures rapidly rose above 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit,” Moore explains. “Clothing and wood immediately burst into flames. Swords, spears, mudbricks and pottery began to melt. Almost immediately, the entire city was on fire.”
Seconds after the blast, a shockwave ripped through the city at a speed of roughly 740 miles per hour – faster than the worst tornado ever recorded. The cities' buildings were reduced to foundations and rubble.
“None of the 8,000 people or any animals within the city survived,” Moore adds. “Their bodies were torn apart, and their bones blasted into small fragments.”
Remarkably, this cataclysmic event also appears to have produced substantial quantities of salt, as noted by James Kent, an associate professor at the University of California – a detail that reminds some of the story of Lot's wife, who turned into a pillar of salt following the destruction of Sodom.
Meanwhile, archaeology may be providing even more support for Biblical stories and teachings, or at least helping us question the established “truths” we are so often taught as facts.
The world's most notable archaeological discoveries in 2023 include the largest collection of ancient bronze statues ever found in Italy, the world's first book, the earliest example of wooden architecture, the first complete skeleton of a giant panda found in a royal tomb and the Nero's Theatre.
Archaeological highlights of the year feature these amazing finds:
- PERU: New DNA analysis reveals that one-third of Machu Picchu's caretakers – skilled workers including craftspeople and priests – came from faraway Amazonia. This suggests that part of the Amazon was more fully integrated into the Inca Empire than previously thought.
- ITALY: The largest collection of ancient bronze statues ever found in Italy, among them the “scrawny boy” – a Roman youth with apparent bone disease – is unearthed below bathhouse ruins in Tuscany – shedding light on how Romans and Etruscans viewed the connection between health, religion and spirituality.
- ISRAEL: Four extremely well-preserved swords – three still in their wooden scabbards – are discovered in a cave overlooking the Dead Sea. The weapons may have been hidden by Judean rebels after they were seized from the Roman army as booty.
- MEXICO: A stone chest containing 15 figurines made by the Mezcala people between 500 BC and 600 AD is found in a layer of Mexico City's Templo Mayor dating to the reign of Moctezuma I (1440-69) – indicating that the Aztecs excavated the objects from Mezcala sites in the southwest of the country and placed them in the temple as ritual offerings.
- CHINA: The first complete skeleton of a giant panda to be found in a royal tomb is discovered among the remains of 400 sacrificial animals near the mausoleum of a Han dynasty emperor from 180-157 BC. The find gives insights into royal burial rites going back more than 2,000 years.
- ZAMBIA: A pair of interlocking logs dating back nearly half a million years are believed to be the earliest known example of wooden architecture. The structure predates the appearance of the first modern humans by around 150,000 years.
- EGYPT: A fragment of what researchers believe to be the world's first book, bound in Egypt almost 2,300 years ago, is uncovered on a piece of papyrus, recycled as wrapping for a mummy. It records, in Greek, tax details on beer and oil – and pushes back the origins of bookbinding by centuries.
- ITALY: The ruins of Nero's Theatre are discovered during renovation works in Rome. Emperor Nero (54-68 AD) is known for his love of drama and the performing arts, but the exact location of his theatre has been a mystery until now.
Let's see what amazing discoveries 2024 will hold for us and our understanding of the Bible and human history.
