Here is my paper that I wrote for my Ancient Near Eastern History class I had this semester. I really enjoyed the class and enjoyed writing this paper.

More Than Just A Myth: The Existence Of Sodom And Gomorrah  

When it comes to Old Testament stories, many people find a detachment between the Bible and archaeology – especially with the more unbelievable stories. The account of Sodom and Gomorrah is a tale that many people see as a myth rather than historically accurate. The idea of fire and brimstone raining down from heaven to destroy wicked cities is far-fetched and unbelievable. However, as new discoveries are being made in archaeology every day, the evidence for proving the historicity of biblical events are coming more and more into the light. “Archaeologists often find themselves hooted and hollered out of town when they first suggest things like, ‘I found Troy,’ or, ‘Look we have found Sodom and Gomorrah. But history has shown, that, in fact, the more you dig, the more you find. It’s amazing how accurate the Bible sometimes turns out to be.”[1]

The reason the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah is so hard to believe is because of the way the cities were destroyed. Also, the lack of archaeological proof over the years caused many scholars to believe that the cities never even existed, and that they were just fictional cities. However, recent archaeological evidence has come to light showing that the cities could have very well existed. The most prominent archaeological find for the existence of Sodom and Gomorrah are the sites of Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira. “Taken in conjunction with our archaeological survey of the southern Dead Sea valley, the Bab ed-Dra fortress and camp provide us for the first time with a chronological basis for fixing the date of the destruction of the Early Bronze culture of Sodom and Gomorrah, so vividly recounted in Genesis 19.”[2] Even though other archaeologists and scholars have had their theories on the location of these sinful cities, none of the discoveries tie in with Sodom and Gomorrah as well as Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira do. The location of the cities, the date, the archaeological evidence, and the fact these cities were destroyed at the same time, makes them the most likely candidates for being the sin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Bab Edh-Dhra has undergone frequent excavations throughout the last century, and scholars have found that it was one of the largest civilizations that flourished during the Early Bronze Age. “The results of this [Bab Edh-Dhra] and numerous other expeditions made by the writer into the Jordan Valley have definitively established the correctness of the very early Biblical tradition that the valley was very prosperous and densely peopled when Abraham came into the country.”[3] William F. Albright led the first expedition into the Jordan Valley in 1924, and there they discovered the momentous find of a large city that once inhabited the land. However, excavations on the area did not occur until the 1960s when Paul W. Lapp led teams to uncover the secrets of the land. The expedition by Albright in 1924 led to the discovery of hundreds of pieces of pottery that dated to the Early Bronze age, while Lapp’s excavations uncovered numerous cemeteries. However, “One problem left unanswered by Lapp: If Bab Edh-Dhra is Sodom, where is Gomorrah?”[4]

Eight years after the discovery of the mass tombs at Bab Edh-Dhra by Paul Lapp, excavations were made to further uncover the secrets of this great city and to see if a sister city could be found. Walter Rast and Thomas Schaub led this excavation in 1973, and they discovered something amazing – the sister city Numeira. “The second site at which work has been conducted by the expedition is Numeira, located 13 km south and slightly southwest of Bab Edh-Dhra.”[5] The discovery of Numeira adds support to the theory that these are the modern sites for the wickedest cities mentioned in the Bible. The pieces to the puzzle seem to be falling into place as Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira are looking more and more like the cities of sin mentioned in the Old Testament.

Another thing about Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira that match up with the Biblical text is the date and location of the cities. Both of these are very important for archaeologists because it could mean the difference to finding a treasure or not. If these two cities were indeed Sodom and Gomorrah than their date and location would match the Biblical story. Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira are both dated to the Early and Middle Bronze ages, which runs from about 3200 to 1550 BCE. It was Albright’s discovery of the pottery in Bab Edh-Dhra that gives us this date, “Albright himself wrote a very significant short piece on pottery from the site, identifying it for the first time as a site from the Early Bronze age. And that became very important for all subsequent work.”[6] Most scholars agree that there is evidence of Abraham living during this time, “Such stories [Patriarchal narratives] and many others—stories that have no parallels in the Mosaic tradition or in later Israel—actually do contain correct reminisces of the Bronze Age.”[7]

There is an artifact that was discovered that has helped to place the location of the cities of the plain mentioned in Genesis 13:12. A mosaic map was found in Madaba in 1884, but the item was reported and than left to collect dust until in 1896 when it was found in the remains of the ancient church when the new one was being completed. The Madaba map is a one of a kind because it is, “the only extant cartographical representation of ancient Palestine…”[8] The map is intricately detailed showing many of the civilizations that once prospered in ancient Palestine, as well as places mentioned in the Bible such as Lot’s cave. One of the most interesting places on the map that can be clearly seen is the location of the city of Zoar, which is the same city Lot fled to when fleeing Sodom. However, Lot did not stay in the city, “Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave” (Genesis 19:30 [NKJV]). The location of Lot’s cave and the city Zoar on the map are exactly where the Biblical account places them on “the southern end of the Dead Sea.”[9] “Jewish tradition…as well as Christian sources place Biblical Zoar at the south end of the Dead Sea and connect it with the area of Sodom.”[10]

The location of Zoar on the Madaba map was the thing that encouraged expeditions in the area to search for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Albright searched the site of Zoar portrayed on the Madaba map, but he didn’t find anything of importance that the site was the Biblical city and came up with a theory on the subject. “In Roman, Byzantine, and Arabic times there was a little city, which still bore the ancient name Zoar, near the Seil el-Qurahi, at the southern end of the sea; its site, which we examined and sounded, exhibits no traces of pre-Christian occupation. It follows, of course, since the situation of Zoar in the extreme south is testified by several Biblical passages, that the later site, at the foot of hills, lies upstream from the Biblical site, and that the latter, like the former oasis of the Seil en-Numeirah, has been buried by the advancing waters of the Dead Sea.”[11] Despite the possible covering of Zoar by the Dead Sea, it did not stop the discovery of what could very well be the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

There are many archaeological connections found in Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira for people to believe that they are the modern sites for Sodom and Gomorrah. One comparison that is made between the Biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah and the sites at Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira, is the prosperity of the cities. The Biblical text portrays the cities of the plain to be like Egypt – which was a large, prosperous civilization at that time. “And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar” (Genesis 13:10). The archaeological finds at Bab Edh-Dhra show that it was one of the largest cities during its time, “As a result of this season’s work [the 1970 excavations], it seems that the most impressive urban period at Bab Edh-Dhra was EB III.”[12] Other places during this age had well-established civilizations, but it was uncommon in the Jordan Valley.

Rast and Schaub who excavated the area in the 70’s saw that the location went through three different periods, which run from the Early Bronze I to Early Bronze IV. “Bab Edh-Dhra experienced three principle occupational periods with sub-phases: an initial pre-urban one during EB I, followed by a lengthy urban settlement during EB II and III, and finally a post-urban period in EB IV.”[13] There are three things that determine the occupational history of the city: how long it was in use, the size of its architectural structures, and the amount of people living there. When the mass number of cemeteries and tombs found at Bab Edh-Dhra were properly dated, the results showed that the city was in existence for about 1,000 years. “Of the three paleobotanical assemblages, the one from Bab Edh-Dhra is the most instructive, not only because of the larger sample size, but also due to the fact that this assemblage spans 1000 years.”[14]

During the 1000-year span of the city of Bab Edh-Dhra, the urban period (EB II and III) was the most fruitful. “Based on the assumption that Bab Edh-Dhra could have supported 250 people per hectare…approximately 1,500 individuals may have inhabited the site at any one time in the EBII-III, and it is in EBIII (around 2550 BC) that Bab Edh-Dhra is believed to have supported the greatest number of people (Rast and Schaub, 2003).”[15] Having this large of population was uncommon in this area during the Early Bronze age, and to accommodate the population the construction of the town was also unique to its time and location. The common structures seen among a civilization of this size includes walls, houses, and cemeteries. “Although it cannot be deemed an urban center, there is abundant evidence for a number of factors associated with incipient urbanism, including increased population density, the construction of municipal and administrative buildings, the development of irrigation structures in the wadis, and a fortified town wall.”[16]

Another example of how prosperous and fruitful the five cities of the plain were that connects with the Biblical text is the bounty of the land. In Genesis 13:10 the author describes the five plain cities to be “like the garden of the Lord” which this means that there was an abundance of the land. Archaeological discoveries at Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira give evidence for making this comparison. There were numerous plant remains found at both sites that give insight into what kind of agriculture was grown on the Jordan Valley. The plants recovered at both sites were similar, which this could give evidence for why Numeira may have been created as a sister city. “Given the proximity of the sites and the longer history of Bab Edh-Dhra, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that Numeira did not experience the gradual cultural and agricultural ‘evolution’ that Bab Edh-Dhra underwent in EB I-II, but was rather established as a satellite community of Bab Edh-Dhra during the EBIII Period, complete with a broad spectrum agricultural industry that included cereal, vegetable and fruit production.”[17] The land was flourishing when Lot decided to dwell in Sodom; however, the prosperity of the land was completely opposite of how the people were. “But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13).

According to the Biblical text, it was this sin and wickedness that eventually brought the prosperous cities of the plain to an end. The story of God striking the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from heaven has always been seen as a myth, and has been disregarded. However, the archaeological evidence from the sites of Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira provides the most important connection between the Biblical account and modern discovery. There was a fire that burned away parts of the cities, which is clearly seen by the burnt remains found at both sites. Surprisingly, the Bible mentions two incidents happening that brought destruction upon the cities of the plain.

First was the siege of Sodom and Gomorrah by the four kings of Mesopotamia, “Then they took all of the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way” (Genesis 14:11). The kings of Mesopotamia plundered Sodom and Gomorrah, which would have left the cities in shambles. The second account of destruction being brought on the land is Genesis 19, and the final destruction by fire and brimstone. Amazingly, the evidence uncovered at the sites of Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira can match perfectly with the Biblical account. “It would appear to be a combination of either military siege or earthquake, which brought the towns and thriving culture of those towns to an end.”[18]

Throughout the sites of Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira there are numerous discoveries of burnt structures, clothing, and layers of ash on the ground. Evidence for destruction by fire goes from the center of the cities out toward even the wall. “Wall 33 in field XI.2 was a solid mudbrick wall standing six courses high…Against it were layers of fallen brick and ashes.”[19] The ash inside the burn areas by the walls or in the cemeteries was found to be deep in some areas, “The ash in this burn area was 0.35 m deep at some points.”[20] Some of the most extensive burn areas are in the cemeteries, and the tombs and charnel houses are burnt either a little or completely. Just a few examples of how much burn damage there is in the cemeteries at Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira include the charnel houses A 8, A 41, and A 22.

Charnel house A 8 had all of the bones and objects inside the house buried under a decent layer of ash, “All bones, skulls, and objects lay on the floor, or were embedded in burn layers as much as 0.20 m above the floor.”[21] The house was also found to have the most damage out of any of the other tombs, which shows the severity the fire did to it. “Evidence showed that it suffered the most severe destruction by fire of all the charnel houses excavated during 1965-67.”[22] Another charnel house that also shows how severe the fire was that destroyed Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira is house A 41. The damage on this tomb can be clearly seen with parts of the building being charred black, “This final phase was characterized by the sizeable burn area at the doorway and over the central part of the building, which was often charcoal black, containing charred wood chunks, burnt cloth, and ashy bone and brick.”[23]

The last charnel house that has extensive fire damage to it is also the most unique and fascinating discovery found, and this is due to the way it was burned. Up until the discovery of charnel house A 22, numerous tombs had signs of burning but it was never discovered in which way they became damaged. Many people used the fact that the tombs weren’t burned from top to bottom as proof for why Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira are not likely candidates for Sodom and Gomorrah. Because the Biblical account talks about the fire coming from heaven, so the houses should be burnt from top to bottom. However, the remarkable thing about charnel house A 22 is that it does have evidence for being burnt from the top to bottom. “The extensive burn is clear evidence of the tomb’s destruction by fire. Burning was concentrated along the interior wall in the center of both sectors, where the majority of posts and beams were uncovered. Along the south wall impressions of desiccated beams angled down toward the interior transverse wall, indicating that they had collapsed in the center across the interior wall.”[24]

After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah the Bible does not mention what happens to the cities after that, but it would be realistic to theorize that the cities were destroyed to a degree where settlement in the area was near impossible. After the destruction of Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira in the Early Bronze III age, there was another period after that where people tried to settle once again in the area. However, after a severe catastrophe like the one the cities went through – evidenced by the state of the tombs – it would be almost impossible to cultivate the land. It was in the Early Bronze IV age when people tried to settle in the land again, but it eventually led to them abandoning the area completely. David W. McCreery has a theory about why the people of EB IV could not continue the once thriving city, “A combination of factors probably led to the final abandonment of the EBIV settlement of Bab Edh-Dhra. Although local horticulture survived the demise of the city, the collapse of urban culture throughout the region would have had a devastating impact on intercity trade, depriving local farmers of the market for which their products were so well suited. If soil salinity was as serious a problem as it appears to have been, local farmers may have found it increasingly difficult to grow cereals, especially wheat, as well as flax and pulses, thus being forced to rely more heavily on orchard crops for subsistence.”[25]

With the archaeological evidence given here it no wonder why the modern sites of Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira are the most likely candidates to being the Biblical sin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, there is still skepticism, even among the conservative scholars, that we should never jump to conclusions. Albright even warns that it might be best if the cities are never found, “That it probably would have been best if these sites are never found because of the evil that is associated with these sites in the Biblical tradition.”[26] However, if Bab Edh-Dhra and Numeira are Sodom and Gomorrah the problems with the EB IV settlement show how far God’s wrath can go. Because the destruction of the sin cities were so immense that no one would ever be able to settle in area, or rebuild the cities, again.   

Works Cited

Ackroyd David, Fontaine Carol, Rast Walter E., and Schaub R. Thomas. History’s Mysteries: Sodom and Gomorrah, DVD. Directed by Damian Weyand (New York: History Channel, 2001).

  Albright, William F. 1974. The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible. Cambridge: The American Schools of Oriental Research.

———. 1966. Archaeology, Historical Analogy, and Early Biblical Tradition. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.

Avi-Yonah, Michael. 1953. The Madaba Mosaic Map: With Introduction and Commentary. Jerusalem: Hadassah Apprentice School of Printing.

McCreery, David W. 2002. “Bronze Age Agriculture in the Dead Sea Basin: The Cases of Bab Edh-Dhra, Numeira and Tell Nimrin,” ‘Imagining’ Biblical Worlds: Studies in Spatial, Social and Historical Constructs in Honor of James W. Flanagan, ed. David M. Gunn and Paula M. McNutt. New York: Sheffield Academic Press.

Rast Walter E., Schaub R. Thomas, McCreery David W., Donahue Jack, and McConaughy Mark A. 1980. “Preliminary Report of the 1979 Expeditions to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 240.

Rast, Walter E. 1980. “The Southern Dead Sea Valley Expedition, 1979,” Biblical Archaeologists 43, no. 1.

Rast Walter E., Schaub R. Thomas. 1978. “A Preliminary Report of Excavations at Bab edh-Dhra, 1975,” in The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 43, ed. David Noel Freedman. Cambridge: The American Schools of Oriental Research.

———. 1981. “The Southeastern Dead Sea Plain Expedition: An Interim Report of the 1977 Season,” in The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 46, ed. Joseph A. Callaway. Cambridge: The American Schools of Oriental Research.

———. 1989. “Bab edh-Dhra: Excavations in the Cemetery Directed by Paul W. Lapp (1965-67),” in Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan, vol. 1. Winona Lake, Ind: The American Schools of Oriental Research.

Ullinger, Jaime Marie. 2010. Skeletal Health Changes and Increasing Sedentism at Early Bronze Age Bab edh-Dhra, Jordan. PhD diss., Ohio State University. In OhioLink ETD Center, http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Ullinger%20Jaime.pdf?osu1275258919 (Accessed April 24, 2013).

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[1] Carol, Fontaine. History’s Mysteries: Sodom and Gomorrah, DVD. Directed by Damian Weyand (New York: History Channel, 2001).

[2] William F., Albright. The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible (Cambridge: The American Schools of Oriental Research, 1974). 48.

[3] Ibid, 48.

[4] David, Ackroyd. History’s Mysteries: Sodom and Gomorrah, DVD. Directed by Damian Weyand (New York: History Channel, 2001).

[5] Walter E. Rast, Thomas Schaub. “The Southeastern Dead Sea Plain Expedition: An Interim Report of the 1977 Season,” in The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 46, ed. Joseph A. Callaway (Cambridge: The American Schools of Oriental Research, 1981). 35.

[6] Walter E., Rast. History’s Mysteries: Sodom and Gomorrah, DVD. Directed by Damian Weyand (New York: History Channel, 2001). 

[7] William F., Albright. Archaeology, Historical Analogy, and Early Biblical Tradition (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1966). 25.

[8] Michael, Avi-Yonah. The Madaba Mosaic Map: With Introduction and Commentary (Jerusalem: Hadassah Apprentice School of Printing, 1953). 9.

[9] Ibid, 42.

[10] Ibid, 42.

[11] William F., Albright. The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible (Cambridge: The American Schools of Oriental Research, 1974). 135.

[12] Walter E., Rast. “The Southern Dead Sea Valley Expedition, 1979,” Biblical Archaeologists 43, no. 1 (Winter 1980): 60-61.

[13] Walter E. Rast, R. Thomas Schaub, “A Preliminary Report of Excavations at Bab edh-Dhra, 1975,” in The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 43, ed. David Noel Freedman (Cambridge: The American Schools of Oriental Research, 1978). 2.

[14] David W., McCreery, “Bronze Age Agriculture in the Dead Sea Basin: The Cases of Bab Edh-Dhra, Numeira and Tell Nimrin,” ‘Imagining’ Biblical Worlds: Studies in Spatial, Social and Historical Constructs in Honor of James W. Flanagan, ed. David M. Gunn and Paula M. McNutt (New York: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002). 254.

[15] Jaime Marie, Ullinger. 2010. Skeletal Health Changes and Increasing Sedentism at Early Bronze Age Bab edh-Dhra, Jordan. PhD diss., Ohio State University. In OhioLink ETD Center, http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Ullinger%20Jaime.pdf?osu1275258919 (Accessed April 24, 2013).

[16] Ibid.

[17] David W., McCreery, “Bronze Age Agriculture in the Dead Sea Basin: The Cases of Bab Edh-Dhra, Numeira and Tell Nimrin,” ‘Imagining’ Biblical Worlds: Studies in Spatial, Social and Historical Constructs in Honor of James W. Flanagan, ed. David M. Gunn and Paula M. McNutt (New York: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002). 257.

[18] Thomas R., Schaub. History’s Mysteries: Sodom and Gomorrah, DVD. Directed by Damian Weyand (New York: History Channel, 2001). 

[19] Walter E. Rast, Thomas Schaub. “The Southeastern Dead Sea Plain Expedition: An Interim Report of the 1977 Season,” in The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 46, ed. Joseph A. Callaway (Cambridge: The American Schools of Oriental Research, 1981). 19.

[20] Walter E. Rast, R. Thomas Schaub, “A Preliminary Report of Excavations at Bab edh-Dhra, 1975,” in The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 43, ed. David Noel Freedman (Cambridge: The American Schools of Oriental Research, 1978). 19.

[21] Walter E. Rast, R. Thomas Schaub, “Bab edh-Dhra: Excavations in the Cemetery Directed by Paul W. Lapp (1965-67),” in Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan, vol. 1 (Winona Lake, Ind: The American Schools of Oriental Research, 1989). 325.

[22] Ibid, 326.

[23] Ibid, 344.

[24] Walter E. Rast, R. Thomas Schaub, David W. McCreery, Jack Donahue and Mark A. McConaughy, “Preliminary Report of the 1979 Expeditions to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 240 (Autumn 1980). 37.

[25] David W., McCreery, “Bronze Age Agriculture in the Dead Sea Basin: The Cases of Bab Edh-Dhra, Numeira and Tell Nimrin,” ‘Imagining’ Biblical Worlds: Studies in Spatial, Social and Historical Constructs in Honor of James W. Flanagan, ed. David M. Gunn and Paula M. McNutt (New York: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002). 260.

[26] Walter E., Rast. History’s Mysteries: Sodom and Gomorrah, DVD. Directed by Damian Weyand (New York: History Channel, 2001).