A massive asteroid blast about 3,700 years ago obliterated the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, wiping out the early civilizations in the north of Dead Sea, archaeologists have found.
They claimed they have found biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. As mentioned in the book of Genesis, these two cities were destroyed by God because these were full of the sinful people.
"The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven," the Bible verse reads.
The archaeologists said these cities were located northeastern of the Dead Sea, which is now known as Middle Ghor, something that has been heavily debated for quite some time now.
Supporting Evidence
According to the research, minerals found on the site proved that a great, powerful asteroid explosion had occurred and eradicated early humans living there. Scientists also did carbon dating to estimate when the catastrophic event had transpired in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Archaeologist Philip Silvia of the Trinity Southwest University and his team have been digging the site for over 10 years. They explained that the explosion affected approximately 500 km2, which would have easily splattered all nearby towns and killed around 40,000 to 60,000 people living at the 25-kilometer-wide site.
Humanity, which was perceived to have thrived in the area for 2,500 years before the destruction happened, was not the only one that took the brunt of the blast. The once-fertile fields were also stripped off nutrients after the scorching Dead Sea brine had spilled over the farmlands.
Some of the glassy outer parts of pots that had zircon crystals also supported the asteroid explosion theory. These were formed after just a second that it had been exposed to high heat. The archaeologist said that it was "perhaps as hot as the surface of the sun."
The 10-megaton blast is far more destructive than the Hiroshima Bombing, which was placed around 15 to 20 kilotons.
Tunguska Explosion
The explosion resembles Russia's Tunguska Explosion that dates back to more than a hundred years ago. A devastating blast at Stony Tunguska River affected about 2,000 kilometers of the taiga forestry, destroying 80 million trees but fortunately, no human had died.
What is baffling to the researchers is the origin of the explosion that left no crater. Scientists conclude that the blow happened 5 to 10 kilometers above the ground.
Archaeologists tout this phenomenon as a model for the event that washed out the civilization at the Dead Sea.
