An experienced archaeologist has spent a decade searching for the ancient ruins of Sodom, is now confident that his team has located the ill-fated biblical city. He also says that he and his team have found evidence of its sudden destruction.

Any child that has attended Sunday School knows the story of Sodom, the city of antiquity that was destroyed by the judgment of God (Genesis 19). Some modern scholars dismiss the story as myth because up until now, there has been no archaeological evidence to support its existence.

Dr. Steven Collins is a distinguished professor of Archaeology at Trinity Southwest University in Albuquerque and is also dean of the school’s College of Archaeology & Biblical History. Since 2005, he has led excavations in the southern Jordan Valley in an attempt to find Sodom Collins says he began his research by 'analyzing the Biblical text regarding the location of Sodom.'

His investigation led him to conclude that one site in particular fit well within the biblical criteria. The site is named Tall el-Hammam, and it located in the southern Jordan River Valley, nine miles northeast of the Dead Sea.

When they began digging, they found remains of elaborate city infrastructure, including gates, towers, plazas, at least one roadway, and a thick city wall. From all indications, the site was once a thriving, influential city-state with a strategic location and a powerful economy. But then, disaster struck.

As the researchers work to piece together the clues, Collins says his team has identified a distinct layer of ash at the site that dates back to the Middle Bronze period. The ash could be evidence of a fiery destruction, much like the one described in Genesis 19. Pottery shards that were exposed to extremely high temperature levels have been recovered from the site—another potential indication of a fiery disaster.

Collins is increasingly confident that Tall el-Hammam is indeed Sodom.

(Christian News Network)

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