Jun 16, 2014

Sodom Research

Sodom Research

Biblical Archaeology

These tips will help you research the Location of Sodom.

Useful to print for future reference on Sodom.

Index

TIPS TO CONSIDER

FACTS TO CONSIDER
8 facts from Key Fact for the Location of Sodom

  1. The NST is not a new theory, FACT 3
  2. Few sites have ever been identified using an inscription, FACT 11
  3. Both sites are located in the Great Rift Valley, FACT 25
  4. Most scholars place the date of the Patriarchs in the MBA, FACT 37
  5. Numeira was destroyed 250 years before BeD, FACT 39
  6. Use of flaming arrows for battle, FACT 54
  7. This century the Dead Sea is at its lowest point in history, FACT 56
  8. Bitumen pits Location of the battle, FACT 57
RESOURCES

Tips to Consider

  1. These books would be highly recommended for background material and sources, including maps, charts, and timelines, for your Sodom Papers. The advantage of such a book is that it provides a collective source of material for students that would otherwise take a long time to assemble or otherwise be inaccessible. Numerous detailed maps, charts, tables, and photographs are included which will help facilitate understanding of the unfamiliar terrain of the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley. A glossary defines technical terms, and extensive footnotes, a bibliography, and reference to a large index of subjects and authors provides an invaluable resource to students for future study. Index
  2. Don't retell the Sodom Story: Don't spend time in your introduction retelling the Sodom story or quoting from large sections of Genesis. We all know the story and for such a short paper start with a good thesis statement about your task. Index
  3. New Research: There is new research on the subject of Sodom in recent years. Many works on archaeology are out of date on the subject. (See LINK for the up-to-date material). The “Sodom and Gomorrah paper” is designed to evaluate some of this new research on the location of Sodom. Index
  4. Two Separate Sites: Sodom and Gomorrah have traditionally been named together, although they are two separate sites, however you are just researching Sodom, although it would be good to name the site that each side understands to be Gomorrah. Index
  5. Destruction: In describing the destruction for each site we are not interested in how they were destroyed (earthquake, volcano, thunder, asteroid, etc.), but rather in the evidence that is left behind. Is there evidence of burning, high temperatures, bodies, pottery left behind, etc.? Index
  6. Maps: Be sure to use a good map for the location of Bab edh-Dhra and Tall el-Hammam. There are several maps in the Key Facts for the Location of Sodom. Looking from the surrounding mountains one would be looking down into the Jordan Valley like looking into the Grand Canyon. Picture of Jordan Valley from Mt. Nebo (can you see the southern end of the Dead Sea?) Index
  7. Some Journal articles are not available from this blog, but may be accessed through your university Library.

Facts to Consider in your Sodom Papers

Please print and keep these handy while you write your Sodom Paper.

These will have implication for your arguments during the comparison of the northern and southern locations for Sodom. There are 62 facts in the book The Location of Sodom: Navigating the Maze of Arguments, 2016 that would be helpful to consult. Here is the outline of the book with the fact that would be helpful while you write your paper.

Abbreviations:
SST = Southern Sodom Theory
NST = Northern Sodom Theory
TeH = Tall el-Hammam
BeD = Bab edh-Dhra
ANE = Ancient Near East
EBA = Early Bronze Age
MB = Middle Bronze
  1. CHAPTER THREE – PRELIMINARY FACTS  page 56
    • FACT 1: SODOM IS NOT A FICTION FOR WOOD AND COLLINS. page 56
    • FACT 2: THE SST IS NOT A NEW VIEW. page 57
    • FACT 3: THE NST IS NOT A NEW VIEW. page 58. The northern location for Sodom in the Jordan Valley is not a new theory: It was argued by most archaeologists prior to W. F. Albright.
      •  Charles W. Wilson, “On the Site of Ai and the Position of the Altar Which Abram Built Between Bethel and Ai.” Palestine Exploration Fund: Quarterly Statement 1, no. 4 (1869): 123-26. Edward H. Palmer, The Desert of the Exodus: Journeys on Foot in the Wilderness of the Forty Years’ of Wanderings Undertaken in Connexion with the Ordance Survey of Sinai and the Palestine Exploration Fund (Vol. 2. 2 vols. Cambridge, U.K.: Deighton, Bell & Co., 1871), 2:480.
      • Henry Baker Tristram, The Land of Moab Travels and Discoveries on the East Side of the Dead Sea and the Jordan, 2nd ed. (Piscataway, N.J.: Gorgias, 1874), 326–33. LINK
      • Selah Merrill, East of the Jordan: A Record of Travel and Observation in the Countries of Moab, Gilead, and Bashan (London, U.K.: Darf, 1881), 239.
      • Selah Merrill, “Modern Researches in Palestine.” Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York 9 (1877): 109–25.
      • Selah Merrill “Modern Researches in Palestine.” Palestine Exploration Fund: Quarterly Statement 11, no. 1 (1879): 138–54.
      • William F. Birch, “Zoar.” Palestine Exploration Fund: Quarterly Statement 11, no. 1 (1879): 15–18, 99–101.
      • William F. Birch, “Sodom.” Palestine Exploration Fund: Quarterly Statement 13 (1881): 101–102.
      • Claude Reignier Conder, and Horatio H. Kitchener. The Survey of Eastern Palestine: The Adwan Country (Vol. 1. 7 vols. London, U.K.: Palestine Exploration Fund, 1881), 1:229–30.
      • Claude Reignier Conder, Heth and Moab (London, U.K.: Bentley & Son, 1883), 151, 153–55.
      • William M. Thomson, The Land and the Book: Southern Palestine and Jerusalem (New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, 1882), 371–76.
      • William M. Thomson, TThe Land and the Book: Lebanon, Damascus, and Beyond Jordan (New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, 1885), 668–70. LINK
      • George Grove, “Zoar,” ed. William Smith, A Dictionary of the Bible (Philadelphia, Pa.: Winston, 1884), 1153.
      • J. Cunningham Geikie, The Holy Land and the Bible: A Book of Scripture Illustrations Gathered in Palestine (2 vols. London, U.K.: Cassell & Company, 1887), 2: 118–20.
      • Index
    • FACT 4: WOOD BELIEVES THAT BeD IS SODOM. page 59
    • FACT 5: ALBRIGHT DID NOT BELIEVE THAT BeD WAS SODOM. page 60
    • FACT 6: RAST AND SCHAUB DID NOT BELIEVE THAT BeD WAS SODOM. page 61
    • FACT 7: COLLINS BELIEVES THAT TeH IS SODOM. page 61
    • FACT 8: PUBLICATIONS PRIOR TO 2006 DO NOT INCLUDE COLLINS’ TeH RESEARCH.page 63
  2. CHAPTER FOUR – METHODOLOGY FACTS (PROPER SCIENTIFIC METHOD). page 64
    • FACT 9: THE A PRIORI METHOD IS GOOD SCIENCE. page 64
    • FACT 10: THE SERIAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE IS RELIABLE. page 65
    • FACT 11: FEW BIBLICAL SITES HAVE EVER BEEN IDENTIFIED USING AN INSCRIPTION. page 66. Of all the biblical cities on your Bible maps, only Dan, Gezer, Gibeon, Hazor, Hebron, Jerusalem have a secondary inscription identifying their location. Steven Collins, and Latayne C. Scott. Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament’s Most Infamous City (New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, 2013), 273-96. Look Inside Only Ekron has a primary inscription identifying its location. Usually scholars use geographic indicators to identify a cities location (i.e., by this river, by this mountain, etc.). Sodom has 25 geographic indicators while Jerusalem has only 18. For more details see LINK   Index
    • FACT 12: WOOD HAS NEVER EXCAVATED BeD. page 67
    • FACT 13: THE EARLY READ OF THE TEH STRATIGRAPHY WAS DUE TO MODERN MILITARY ACTIVITY. page 67
    • FACT 14: A SURFACE SURVEY IS DIFFERENT TO AN EXCAVATION. page 69
  3. CHAPTER FIVE – HERMENEUTIC FACTS (PROPER INTERPRETIVE METHOD) page 70
    • FACT 15: THE KEY PASSAGE ON SODOM’S GEOGRAPHY IS GEN 13:1-12. page 70
    • FACT 16: GENESIS 14:10 IS REFERRING TO THE LOCATION FOR THE BATTLE OF THE MESOPOTAMIAN KINGS, NOT THE LOCATION OF THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN. page 71
    • FACT 17: ZEBOIIM IS PLURAL IN HEBREW. page 72
    • FACT 18: HEBREW DOES NOT HAVE THE WORDS NORTH, SOUTH, EAST OR WEST. page 73
    • FACT 19: EZEKIEL IS NOT BIBLICAL NARRATIVE. page 74
    • FACT 20: JEREMIAH 50:35-46 IS PROPHETIC LITERATURE. page 75
    • FACT 21: THERE IS A SALT CURSE MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE. page 77
  4. CHAPTER SIX – GEOGRAPHY FACTS (THE LOCATION)
    • FACT 22: THE JORDAN VALLEY WAS VISIBLE FROM BETWEEN BETHEL AND AI. page 78
    • FACT 23: SODOM WAS LOCATED ON THE PLAIN (KIKKĀR) OF THE JORDAN. page 80
    • FACT 24: THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE VALLEY OF SIDDIM IS NOT KNOWN. page 82
    • FACT 25: Bab edh-Dhra and Tall el-Hammam ARE BOTH LOCATED IN THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY. page 83.   along a fault line which is known to have asphalt /bitumen, sulfur, tar, and natural gas (Pliny the Elder Nat. Hist. 2.226; 5.72; 7.65; 28.80; 35.178). Petroleum products are not unique to Bab edh-Dhra.  I’m working beside the hot springs at Hammam (means "hot springs") and while we are working you can smell the sulfur. Collins points to bitumen (tar) chunks that have been mined all around the area, including at Tall el-Hammam. Steven Collins. “Where Is Sodom? The Case for Tall el-Hammam.” Biblical Archaeology Review 39, no. 2 (2013). For more details see LINK. Index
    • FACT 26: SMOKE FROM BOTH TeH AND BeD WOULD HAVE BEEN VISIBLE FROM HEBRON. page 84
    • FACT 27: TeH IS ALSO ABEL-SHITTIM. page 85
    • FACT 28: TeH IS ALSO LIVIAS. page 85
    • FACT 29: ABRAHAM WAS GIVEN THE LAND OF CANAAN. page 86
    • FACT 30: FOR THE SST ADVOCATES, GEN 14:1-14 WOULD REQUIRE CHEDORLAOMER TO HAVE GONE BACK ON HIS TRACKS. page 86
    • FACT 31: THE SOUTHERN DEAD SEA REGION LOOKS CURSED. page 87
    • FACT 32: SHEA’S IDENTIFICATION OF CITIES BASED ON THE EBLAITE GEOGRAPHIC ATLAS IS SUSPECT. page 88
    • FACT 33: THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBLE LOCATIONS FOR ZOAR. page 89
      • Southern Zoar – Ghor eṣ-Ṣafi page 89
      • Northern Zoar 1 – Tall Iktanu  page 91
      • Northern Zoar 2 – Serâbît el-Mushaqqar page 92
      • Northern Zoar 3 – On the Arnon River page 93
    • FACT 34: LOT’S CAVE IS LOCATED ON THE MADABA MAP. page 93
  5. CHAPTER SEVEN – CHRONOLOGY FACTS (THE TIME PERIOD)  page 96
    • FACT 35: NOT ALL ARCHAEOLOGISTS APPROACH BIBLICAL NUMBERS IN THE SAME WAY. page 96
    • FACT 36: CONSERVATIVE SCHOLARS DEBATE THE DATE OF THE EXODUS.  page 96
    • FACT 37: MOST MAXIMALISTS BELIEVE THAT THE PATRIARCHS LIVED IN THE MIDDLE BRONZE AGE. page 98. Most evangelical scholars and maximalists would place the date of the Patriarchs (Abraham and Lot) in the Middle Bronze Age (MB). See the chart in J. Randall Price, The Stones Cry Out: What Archaeology Reveals About the Truth of the Bible (Eugene, Oreg.: Harvest House, 1997), 106, John J. Bimson , “Archaeological Data and the Dating of the Patriarchs” Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives. Leicester:, U.K. InterVarsity (1980). 59-92. Collins, Steven. “Tall el-Hammam Is Still Sodom: Critical Data Sets Cast Serious Doubt on E.H. Merrill’s Chronological Analysis.” Biblical Research Bulletin 13, no. 1 (2013): 1–27. Link The question to answer is: When were the cities of Bab edh-Dhra and Tall el-Hammam destroyed?  Index
    • FACT 38: BeD WAS DESTROYED IN THE EB III BUT WAS REOCCUPIED IN EB IV. page 99
    • FACT 39: BeD AND NUMEIRA WERE DESTROYED AT DIFFERENT TIMES. page 102. Schaub, who dug at Bab edh-Dhra, indicates that Numeira was destroyed at a different time period (2600 BC) from Bab edh-Dhrâ (2350–2067 BC). Also see Steven, Collins, and Latayne C. Scott, Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament’s Most Infamous City (New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, 2013), 152, 231. Index
    • FACT 40: TeH WAS DESTROYED IN THE MBA AND LAY UNOCCUPIED FOR OVER 500 YEARS. page 104
  6. CHAPTER EIGHT – ARCHAEOLOGY FACTS (MATERIAL EVIDENCE)
    • FACT 41: TeH IS THE LARGEST EB SITE AND THIRD LARGEST MB SITE IN THE SOUTHERN LEVANT. page 105
    • FACT 42: BeD IS THE LARGEST EB SITE IN THE SOUTHERN DEAD SEA REGION. page 109
    • FACT 43: BeD AND NUMEIRA ARE THE ONLY INHABITED TOWNS IN THE SOUTHERN DEAD SEA REGION IN THE EBA.  page 110
      • 1. Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ  page 110
      • 2. Numeira page 111
      • 3. eṣ-Ṣafi page 111
      • 4. Feifa  page 112
      • 5. Khirbet al-Khanazir  page 112
    • FACT 44: THERE ARE FOUR MB SITES IN THE JORDAN VALLEY WITH EVIDENCE OF DESTRUCTION. page 113
      • 1. Tall el-Ḥammâm  page 113
      • 2. Tall Nimrin page 114
      • 3. Tall al-Kafrayn  page 114
      • 4. Tall Bleibel and Tall el-Musṭāḥ page 114
    • FACT 45: THERE IS NO LBA ARCHITECTURAL OCCUPATION IN THE JORDAN VALLEY. page 115
      • Tall el-Ḥammâm  page 115
      • Tall Nimrin page 115
      • Tall al-Kafrayn page 116
      • Tall Iktanu  page 116
      • Tell Al Sultan (Jericho)  page 116
      • Tall Bleibel (Tall Bulaybil) page 117
      • Tall el-Musṭāḥ (Tall al-Musṭāḥ) page 117
    • FACT 46: TeH IS NOT HESHBON. page 118
    • FACT 47: THE PENTAPOLIS ARE NOT ALL MENTIONED TOGETHER IN THE EBLA TABLETS, AND MANY PEOPLE DOUBT WHETHER THEY ARE LISTED AT ALL.    119
    • FACT 48: THERE ARE REPORTS OF A MINOAN CONNECTION AT TEH.    121
  7. CHAPTER NINE – DESTRUCTION FACTS (MATERIAL EVIDENCE)
    • FACT 49: BOTH SITES PROVIDE FIERY DESTRUCTION EVIDENCE.  page 123
      • Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ  page 123
      • Tall el-Ḥammâm  page 124
    • FACT 50: BOTH SITES HAVE A CITY GATE COMPLEX THAT WAS DESTROYED.  page 124
      • Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ  page 124
      • Tall el-Ḥammâm  page 125
    • FACT 51: HUMAN REMAINS HAVE BEEN FOUND AT BOTH SITES. page 126
      • Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ page 126
      • Tall el-Ḥammâm page 126
    • FACT 52: THERE ARE VARIOUS THEORIES FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PENTAPOLIS. page 127
      • Destroyed by a volcano:  page 127
      • Destroyed by an earthquake:  page 128
      • Destroyed by liquefaction:  page 128
      • Conclusion:  page 129
    • FACT 53: THE CEMETERY AT BeD WAS BURNED.  page 129
    • FACT 54: SHOOTING FLAMING ARROWS INTO THE AIR WAS COMMONLY USED BY ENEMIES IN THE ANE. page 131. In the ancient world it was common to destroy cities by means of shooting flaming arrows into the air and they would land on the roof of buildings and catch the wattle and daub (twigs and sticks which the roof is made from) on fire. See the siege of Lachish reliefs in the British Museum where the fiery arrows are depicted on the reliefs. Page 80 in Price, The Stones Cry Out. Prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18) we know that the region as far south as the Amorites, who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar (= En Gedi in the Israeli side of the Dead Sea 2 Chronicles 20:2),  had conflict with foreign nations (Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, Goiim, Gen 14:1-7). Index
    • FACT 55: MYSTERIOUS CLINKERS, IDENTIFIED AS TRINITITE, WERE DISCOVERED AT TeH.  page 132
  8. CHAPTER TEN – GEOLOGY FACTS (MATERIAL EVIDENCE)  page 133
    • FACT 56: THE DEAD SEA IS AT ITS LOWEST POINT IN HISTORY AND THERE ARE NO EXPOSED RUINS. page 133
    • This century the Dead Sea is at its lowest point in history (except the Byzantine period) and no ruins has been found along the shores that were once submerged under the Dead Sea. For more details see the interactive Dead Sea Level chart. Index
    • FACT 57: BITUMEN IS FOUND ALL AROUND THE DEAD SEA.  page 135. The mention of bitumen/tar (literally slime) pits in Genesis 14:10 are stated in the context of the battle of the Elamite king (Chedorlaomer, King of Elam) and the kings of Cities of the Plain.  The passage states that the kings of the cities of the plain “joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea)” (Gen 14:3 ESV). This does not say that this is where the Cities of the Plain were located, but this is where the battle took place. The text indicates that the battle took place in a different location than where the “cities of the plain” were situated, as the kings “went out, came out, or marched out” from the cities. Bitumen pits (sink holes) are located on the western side of the Dead Sea and not the southern end (Meir Abelson et al., “Evaluation of the Dead Sea Sinkholes,” in New Frontiers in Dead Sea Paleoenvironmental Research, ed. Yehouda Enzel, Amotz Agnon, and Mordechai Stein, Special Papers: Geological Society of America 401 (Boulder, Colo.: Geological Society of America, 2006), 248; O. Amit and A. Bein, “The Evolution of the Dead Sea Floating Asphalt Blocks: Simulations by Pyrolisis,” Journal of Petroleum Geology 2, no. 4 (1980): 429–47; Tina M. Niemi, Zvi Ben-Avraham, and Joel R. Gat, eds., The Dead Sea: The Lake and Its Setting, Oxford Monographs on Geology and Geophysics 36 (New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, USA, 1997). Index
      • South  page 137
      • North  page 137
      • East  page 137
      • West  page 137
      • Location of bitumen pits  page 138
    • FACT 58: JEBEL USDUM IS NOT SODOM OR LOT’S WIFE.  page 139
    • FACT 59: TeH IS WELL WATERED.  page 139
    • FACT 60: THE SOUTHERN JORDAN VALLEY WAS WELL-WATERED IN ANCIENT TIMES. page 140
    • FACT 61: THE DEAD SEA EXISTED PRIOR TO GENESIS 19. page 140
    • FACT 62: THERE IS PALEO-BOTANICAL EVIDENCE AT BOTH SITES. page 141

Sodom Resources

Tall el-Hammam

On Tall el-Hammam, (Sodom?), Trinity Southwest University (Dr. Steven Collins) is digging in the northern Jordan Valley, for the location of Sodom. Here is Dr. Collins (Feb 2016) explaining why he believes Tall el-Hammam is Sodom and how he came to locate it. LINK Note that in 1990 Kay Prag (Student of Kathleen Kenyon) also did a small excavation at Tall el-Hammam. Dr. Bryant Wood is supporting the southern location Bab edh-Dhra but has not dug there. Steve Collins and Bryant Wood are good friends and have worked together at Khirbet el-Maqatir (Ai) Excavation in Israel/West Bank, for six seasons (1995- 2000).

I would also recommend reading Dr. Collins article on Sodom in BAR magazine. All the Tall el-Hammam dig reports are available at this LINK. Good to look at the Latest Dig Report for an overview of what was discovered. More free downloadable research by Collins is available at the official Tall el-Hammam site and Biblical Research Bulletin (The online Bible and Spade articles are missing the color photographs which would have been helpful for you). Interviews and lectures by Dr. Collins can be found on YouTube.

  1. Sodom Update: (April 17, 2013) Here is a one hour video address by Dr. Collins at Calvary Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico.  It introduces some very interesting connections to the biblical text about Sodom and possible connections with the homosexual cultic practices of the Minoan civilization of Crete.
  2. Dr. Steven Collins at Tall el-Hammam: Dr. Collins describes how he came to believe that Tall el-Hammam is the site of historic Sodom in the Jordan Valley. 
  3. National Geographic Video: also has a program out on Tall el-Hammam as a possible candidate for Sodom (filmed in 2012). The episode of Ancient X files: Sodom and Gomorrah & Voynich Manuscript airs regularly. This program deals with two topics, the first of which is Sodom and then the second part will be on an ancient manuscript which is irrelevant to our discussion (you can skip this part). Although it does not deal with any of our archaeological research and discoveries (must read the articles for the details) it will give you some idea about the work there.
  4. Discovery Channel Video: This video describes Collins discovery of Tall el-Hammam as a possible location for ancient Sodom and the air burst theory. On the identification of the sites Tall El-Hammam on the Madaba map see Graves, David E., and D. Scott Stripling. “Identification of Tall El-Hammam on the Madaba Map.” Bible and Spade 20, no. 2 (2007): 35–45; Graves, David E., and D. Scott Stripling. “Is Tall El-Hammam on the Madaba Map?” In Near East Archaeological Society, 1–20. San Diego: Near East Archaeological Society, 2007; Graves, David E., and D. Scott Stripling. “Locating Tall El-Hammam on the Madaba Map.” Biblical Research Bulletin 7, no. 6 (2007): 1–11 where I was the first to identify Tall el-Hammam on the Madaba Map as Sodom, p. 45. I then discussed this with Dr. Collins. Craig Olsen was one of the volunteers at TeH in 2015, and I was his field supervisor.
    Index

Excavation Reports

Biblical Research Bulletin articles LINK
  • Collins, Steven, Gary A. Byers, and Michael C. Luddeni. “Tall El-Hammam Excavation Project, Season Activity Report, Season One: 2005/2006 Probe Excavation and Survey: Submitted to the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Jan 22, 2006.” Biblical Research Bulletin 6, no. 4 (2006): 1–13.
  • Collins, Steven, Gary A. Byers, Michael C. Luddeni, and John W. Moore. “Tall El-Hammam Excavation Project, Season Activity Report, Season Two: 2006/2007 Excavation and Survey: Submitted to the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, January 26, 2006.” Biblical Research Bulletin 7, no. 9 (2007): 1–13.
  • Collins, Steven, Gary A. Byers, Michael C. Luddeni, John W. Moore, Abdelsamee’ Abu Dayyeh, Adeib abu-Shmais, Khalil Hamdan, Hussein Aljarrah, Jehad Haroun, and Steve McAllister. “Tall El-Hammam Excavation Project, Season Activity Report, Season Three: 2008 Excavation, Exploration, and Survey: Submitted to the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, February 13, 2008.” Biblical Research Bulletin 8, no. 2 (2008): 1–13.
  • Collins, Steven, Khalil Hamdan, Gary A. Byers, Jehad Haroun, Hussein Aljarrah, Michael C. Luddeni, Steve McAllister, Qutaiba Dasouqi, and David E. Graves. “Tall El-Hammam Excavation Project, Season Activity Report, Season Four: 2009 Excavation, Exploration, and Survey: Submitted to the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, February 29, 2009.” Biblical Research Bulletin 9, no. 1 (2009): 1–30
  • Collins, Steven. “Tall El-Hammam, Season Four: Data, Interpretations, and Insights From the 2009 Excavations.” In Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research: New Orleans, LA, 1–31. Albuquerque, N.M.: TSU Press, 2009. InterLibrary Loan
  • Collins, Steven, Khalil Hamdan, and Gary A. Byers. “Tall El-Hammam: Preliminary Report on Four Seasons of Excavation (2006–2009).” Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 53 (2009): 385–414.
  • Collins, Steven, Aljarrah Hussein, Gary A. Byers, Carroll M. Kobs, John Leslie, Adeib abu-Shmais, Jehad Haroun, et al. “Tall Al-Hammam Season Six, 2011: Excavation, Survey, Interpretations and Insights.” Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55 (2011): 581–607.
  • Collins, Steven, Khalid Tarawneh, Gary A. Byers, and Carroll M. Kobs. “Tall El-Hammam Season Eight, 2013: Excavation, Survey, Interpretations and Insights.” Biblical Research Bulletin (2013): 1–20.
  • Collins, Steven, Carroll M. Kobs, and Michael C. Luddeni. An Introduction to Tall Al-Hammam with Seven Seasons (2005-2011) of Ceramics and Eight Seasons (2005-2012) of Artifacts. Vol. 1. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2015.
  • Kobs, Carroll M., Steven Collins, Al-jarrah Hussein, and Hal Bonnette. “A Plaque Figurine at Tall al-Hammam, Season Six (2011).” Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55 (2011): 609–621.
  • Prag, Kay. “Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Tell Iktanu and Tall el-Hammam, Jordan 1990.” Levant 23 (1991): 55–66. LINK
  • Prag, Kay. “The Excavations at Tell Al-Hammam.” Syria 70, no. 1–2 (1990): 271–73.
  • Schath, Kenneth, Steven Collins, and Hussein Aljarrah. “Excavation of an Undisturbed Demi-Dolmen and Insights from the Al-Hammam Megalithic Field, 2011 Season.” Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55 (2011): 329–50. Request from ILL.
  • “Archaeologists Excavate Massive Ancient Gateway in Jordan.” Popular Archaeology Vol 8. Sept 2012. LINK
Back to Index

Articles supporting Tall el-Hammam as Sodom:

See the articles listed in the Biblical Research Bulletin (Trinity Southwest University): LINK

  • Collins, Steven. “Where Is Sodom? The Case for Tall el-Hammam.” Biblical Archaeology Review 39, no. 2 (2013), 31-41, 70–71. PDF LOOKUP
  • Collins, Steven. “Sodom: The Discovery of a Lost City.” Bible and Spade 20, no. 3 (2007): 70–77.
  • Collins, Steven, “If You Thought You Knew the Location of Sodom and Gomorrah...Think Again,” Biblical Research Bulletin 7. no. 4 (2007): 1–7.
  • Collins, Steven. “A Response to Bryant G. Wood’s Critique of Collins’ Northern Sodom Theory.” Biblical Research Bulletin 7, no. 7 (2007): 1–36.
  • Collins, Steven. “Tall el-Hammam Is Sodom: Billington's Heshbon Identification Suffers From Numerous Fatal Flaws.” Artifax 27, no. 3 (Summer 2012): 16–18.
  • Collins, Steven. “Forty Salient Points on the Geography of the Cities of the Kikkar.” Biblical Research Bulletin 7, no. 1 (2007): 1–7. 
  • Collins, Steven. “Tall el-Hammam Is Still Sodom: Critical Data Sets Cast Serious Doubt on E.H. Merrill’s Chronological Analysis.” Biblical Research Bulletin 13, no. 1 (2013): 1–27. This article includes the full text of Merrill, Eugene H. “Texts, Talls, and Old Testament Chronology: Tall Hammam as a Case Study.” Artifax 27, no. 4 (2012): 20–21.
  • Geisler, Norman L and Joseph M. Holden. The Popular Handbook of Archaeology and the Bible. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2013. Look Inside Pages 70, 191, 202, 214-220, 383–87.
  • Graves, David E. “Sodom and Gomorrah: Northern Theory.” The Archaeology of the Old Testament: 115 Discoveries That Support the Reliability of the Bible. (Moncton, NB: Electronic Christian Media, 2019), 91–95. LINK
  • Graves, David E. “Sodom and Gomorrah: Northern Theory.” Biblical Archaeology Vol. 1: An Introduction with Recent Discoveries That Support the Reliability of the Bible (Moncton, NB: Electronic Christian Media, 2014), 138–40. LINK
  • Graves, David E. The Location of Sodom: Navigating the Maze of Arguments. Moncton, N.B.: Electronic Christian Media, 2016. LINK
  • Graves, David E. Key Facts for the Location of Sodom Student Edition: Navigating the Maze of Arguments. Moncton, N.B.: Electronic Christian Media, 2014. LINK
  • Graves, David E. “Facts from Archaeology: Sodom and Gomorrah.” Key Themes of the Old Testament: A Survey of Major Theological Themes (Moncton, NB: Electronic Christian Media, 2013), 204-07. Look Inside
  • Graves, David E. “Interaction with Scholars on the Location of Sodom and Gomorrah and Related Issues.” In Kikkar Dialogues, edited by Steven Collins, 23–25, 54–55. Research & Discovery Series 1. Albuquerque, N.M.: Trinity Southwest University Press, 2014.
  • Graves, David E. “My Journey to Locate the Genesis Pentapolis North of the Dead Sea.” Biblical Research Bulletin 14, no. 2 (2014): 1–28. PDF
  • Graves, David E. “Sodom And Salt in Their Ancient Near Eastern Cultural Context.” Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin 61 (2016): 15–32. PDF
  • Olson, Craig. “Which Site Is Sodom?: A Comparison of Bab edh-Dhra and Tall el-Hammam.” Biblical Research Bulletin 14, no. 1 (2014): 1-18. An independent scholar who did his PhD. at Dallas Theological Seminary on “A Proposal for a Symbolic Understanding of the Patriarchal Lifespans.” Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2017.
  • Silva, Phil, and Steven Collins. “The Civilization-Ending 3.7KYrBP Kikkar Event: Archaeological Data, Sample Analyses, and Biblical Implications.” In Annual Meeting of the Near East Archaeological Society: Atlanta, Ga., 1–6. Albuquerque, N.M.: TSU Press, 2015. LikedIn or LINK
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Solomonic Administrative city and Livias Research

On the identification of the Iron Age remains at Tall el-Hammam as a Solomonic Administrative City see

  • Attaway, William. “The District List of Solomon in 1 Kings 4:7-19 and Tall El-Hammam: Is a Connection Feasible?” Ph. D. diss., Trinity Southwest University, 2017.
On the identification of the Roman/Byzantine remains at Tall el-Hammam as the city of Livias see these articles:

  • Graves, David E. “Livias (Tall el-Ḥammâm).” Biblical Archaeology Vol. 1: An Introduction with Recent Discoveries That Support the Reliability of the Bible (Moncton, NB: Electronic Christian Media, 2014), 193–96. Google Look Inside
  • Graves, David E. “Livias (Tall el-Ḥammâm).” The Archaeology of the New Testament: 75 Discoveries That Support the Reliability of the Bible (Moncton, NB: Electronic Christian Media, 2019), 83–85. LINK
  • Graves, David E. “Re-Examination of the Location for the Ancient City of Livias.” co-authored with Scott Stripling. Levant: The Journal of the Council for British Research in the Levant 43.2 (2011): 178-200. LINK for PDF. Here I identify the Roman remains as the Roman/Byzantine city of Livias (Tall el-Hammam may not only be Sodom, but was also Abel-Shittim [IB], Iron age administrative center [IA] and Livias [Roman Period], all in different periods).
  • Graves, David E., and Scott Stripling. “Identification of Tall el-Hammam on the Madaba Map.” Bible and Spade 20, no. 2 (2007): 35–45. PDF
  • Graves, David E. and Scott Stripling. “Locating Tall el-Hammam on the Madaba Map.” Biblical Research Bulletin 7, no. 6 (2007): 1–11.
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Bab edh-Dhra'

The Official Website for Bad edh-Dhra is Expedition Dead Sea Plain. The Follow the Pots website is not the official website for the excavation, but they are doing research on the looting that is taking place at the Bab edh-Dhra cemetery and contains helpful current information about the site. Consult their Bibliography. There is a lot of information in my book Key Fact for the Location of Sodom or The Location of Sodom. Remember to provide "the historical background of the site (including history of previous archaeological excavations, if any), objectives of the current excavation, progress at the site, and significance of discoveries to biblical study.” Make sure to choose good encyclopedia articles, journal articles, and books,that specialize in the subject. This will give you a cross section of material to work with.

Bab edh-Dhra' excavation reports and articles:

  • Bolen, Todd. “Bab Edh-Dhra.” Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, 2014. LINK .
  • Chesson, Meredith S. “Libraries of the Dead: Early Bronze Age Charnel Houses and Social Identity at Urban Bab Edh-Dhraʿ, Jordan.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 18 (1999): 137–64.
  • Chesson, Meredith S., and R. Thomas Schaub. “Life in the Earliest Walled Towns on the Dead Sea Plain: Numayra and Bab Edh-Dhraʿ.” In Crossing Jordan: North American Contributions to the Archaeology of Jordan, edited by Thomas Evan Levy, P. M. Michèle Daviau, Randall W. Younker, and May Shaer, 245–52. London, UK: Equinox, 2007.
  • Dever, William G. “Review of Bab Edh-Dhraʿ: Excavations in the Cemetery Directed by Paul W Lapp, 1965-1967.” Israel Exploration Journal 43, no. 4 (1993): 281–83.
  • Donahue, Jack. “Geology and Geomorphology.” In Bab Edh-Dhraʿ: Excavations at the Town Site (1975-1981): Part 1: Text, edited by Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub, 2:18–55. Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2003.
  • Graves, David E. “Bab Edh-Dhra.” Biblical Archaeology Vol. 1: An Introduction with Recent Discoveries That Support the Reliability of the Bible (Moncton, NB: Electronic Christian Media, 2014), 126–29. Google Look Inside
  • Graves, David E. “Southern Theory.”The Archaeology of the Old Testament: 115 Discoveries That Support the Reliability of the Bible. (Moncton, NB: Electronic Christian Media, 2019), 87–91. LINK
  • Harlan, Jack R. “Natural Resources of Bab Edh-Dhraʿ Region.” In Bab Edh-Dhraʿ: Excavations at the Town Site (1975-1981): Part 1: Text, edited by Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub, 2:56–61. Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2003.
  • ———. “Natural Resources of the Southern Ghor.” In The Southeastern Dead Sea Plain Expedition: An Interim Report of the 1977 Season, edited by R. Thomas Schaub and Walter E. Rast, 155–64. AASOR 46. Boston, Mass.: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1981.
  • Lapp, Paul W. “Bab Edh-Dhraʿ (RB 1966).” Revue Biblique 73 (1966): 556–61.
  • ———. “Bab Edh-Dhraʿ (RB 1968).” Revue Biblique 75 (1968): 86–93, pls. 3–6a.
  • ———. “Bâb edh-Dhrâ' Tomb Tomb A 76 and Early Bronze I in Palestine.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 189 (1968): 12–41. JSTOR
  • ———. “Bab Edh-Dhraʿ, Perizzites and Emim.” In Jerusalem Through the Ages: The Twenty-Fifth Archaeological Convention, 1–25. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1968.
  • ———. “The Cemetery at Bab Edh-Dhraʿ, Jordan.” Archaeology 19, no. 2 (1966): 104–11. JSTOR
  • Lev, David. “Russia Decides to Search for Sodom and Gomorrah-in Jordan.” Arutz Sheva 7: Israel National News, December 14, 2010. LINK.
  • McCreery, David W. “The Paleoethnobotany of Bab Edh-Dhraʿ.” In Bab Edh-Dhraʿ: Excavations at the Town Site (1975-1981): Part 1: Text, edited by Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub, 2:449–63. Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2003.
  • Ortner, Donald J. “A Preliminary Report on the Human Remains from the Bab Edh-Dhra’ Cemetery.” In The Southeastern Dead Sea Plain Expedition: An Interim Report of the 1977 Season, edited by R. Thomas Schaub and Walter E. Rast, 119–32. ASOR 46. Boston, Mass.: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1981.
  • Rast, Walter E. “Bab Edh-Dhraʿ.” Edited by David Noel Freedman, Gary A. Herion, David F. Graf, and John David Pleins. Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1996.
  • ———. “Bab Edh-Dhraʿ and the Origin of the Sodom Saga.” In Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation: Essays in Memory of D. Glenn Rose, edited by Leo G. Perdue, Lawrence E. Toombs, and Gary L. Johnson, 185–201. Atlanta, Ga.: John Knox, 1987.
  • ———. “Bronze Age Cities along the Dead Sea.” Archaeology 40, no. 1 (1987): 42–49. JSTOR
  • ———. “Patterns of Settlement at Bab Edh-Dhraʿ.” In The Southeastern Dead Sea Plain Expedition: An Interim Report of the 1977 Season, edited by R. Thomas Schaub and Walter E. Rast, 7–34. AASOR 46. Boston, Mass.: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1981.
  • ———. “The 1975-1981 Excavations at Bab Edh-Dhraʿ.” In Bab Edh-Dhraʿ: Excavations at the Town Site (1975-1981): Part 1: Text, edited by Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub, 1:1–17. Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan 2. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2003.
  • ———. “The Southeastern Dead Sea Valley Expedition, 1979.” The Biblical Archaeologist 43, no. 1 (1980): 60–61. JSTOR
  • Rast, Walter E., and R. Thomas Schaub. “A Preliminary Report of Excavations at Bab Edh-Dhraʿ, 1975.” In Preliminary Excavation Reports: Bab Edh-Dhrac, Sardis, Meiron, Tell El-Hesi, Carthage (Punic), edited by David Noel Freedman, 1–32. AASOR 43. Chicago, Ill.: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1978.
  • ———. , eds. Bab Edh-Dhraʿ: Excavations at the Town Site (1975-1981): Part 1: Text. Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan 2. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2003.
  • ———. , eds. Bab Edh-Dhraʿ: Excavations in the Cemetery Directed by Paul W Lapp, 1965-1967. Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan 1. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1989.
  • ———. “The Dead Sea Expedition: Bab Edh-Dhraʿ and Numeira, May 24-July 10, 1981.” American Schools of Oriental Research Newsletter, no. 4 (1982): 4–12.
  • Rast, Walter E., R. Thomas Schaub, David W. McCreery, Jack Donahue, and Mark A. McConaughy. “Preliminary Report of the 1979 Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 240 (1980): 21–61. JSTOR
  • Schaub, R. Thomas. “Bab Edh-Dhraʿ.” In The New Encyclopaedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, edited by Ephraim Stern, Ayelet Levinson-Gilboa, and Joseph Aviram, 1:130–36. Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society, 1993.
  • Schaub, R. Thomas. “Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ.” In The New Encyclopaedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, edited by Ephraim Stern, Ayelet Levinson-Gilboa, and Joseph Aviram, 1:130–36. Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society, 1993. This article on the work at Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira is reproduced on their website Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain under the direction of Dr. Walter Rast – Emeritus, Valparaiso University and Dr. R. Thomas Schaub – Emeritus, Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
  • Schaub, R. Thomas.“Bab Edh-Dhraʿ.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, edited by Eric M. Meyers, 1:248–51. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1997.
  • Schaub, R. Thomas. “Ceramic Sequences in the Tomb Groups at Bab Edh-Dhraʿ.” Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 46 Boston, Mass.: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1979, 69–118.
  • Schaub, R. Thomas, and Walter E. Rast. “Preliminary Report of the 1981 Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 254 (1984): 35–60. JSTOR
  • Schaub, R. Thomas, and Walter E. Rast. “The Southeastern Dead Sea Plain Expedition: An Interim Report of the 1977 Season.” Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 46. Boston, Mass.: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1979. JSTOR
  • Weinstein, James M. “A New Set of Radiocarbon Dates from the Town Site.” In Bab Edh-Dhraʿ: Excavations at the Town Site: 1975-1981: Part 1 Text, edited by Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub, 1:638–48. Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan 2. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2003.
  • "Bab edh-Dhra'" University of Melbourne. LINK
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Articles supporting Bab edh-Dhra as Sodom:

  • Billington, Clyde E. “Tall el-Hammam Is Not Sodom.” Artifax (Spring 2012): 1–3. Billington does not believe that Tall el-Hammam nor Bab edh-Dhra are Sodom. See "Fact 46: Tall el-Hammam is not Heshbon." Graves, Key Facts for the Location of Sodom. page 118.
  • Bolen Todd. “Arguments Against Locating Sodom at Tall el-Hammam.” Biblical Archaeology Society, February 27, 2013. LINK
  • Bradshaw, Robert I. “Archaeology and the Patriarchs.” Biblical Studies.org.uk. n.p. [cited 11 April 2015]. Online: http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_archaeology.html#22 LINK
  • Govier, Gordon. “Looking Back: Claims to New Sodom Location Are Salted with Controversy.” Christianity Today 52, no. 4 (2008): 15–16.
  • Govier, Gordon. “Searching for Sodom: Is It Time to Rewrite Old Testament Chronologies?” ChristianityToday.com, February 18, 2014. LINK.
  • Merrill, Eugene H. “Texts, Talls, and Old Testament Chronology: Tall Hammam as a Case Study.” Artifax 27, no. 4 (2012): 20–21. The full text of Merrill's article is included in Collins, Steven. “Tall el-Hammam Is Still Sodom: Critical Data Sets Cast Serious Doubt on E.H. Merrill’s Chronological Analysis.” Biblical Research Bulletin 13, no. 1 (2013): 1–27. See "Fact 32: Shea's Identification of Cities Based on the Eblaite Geographic Atlas is Suspect." Graves, Key Facts for the Location of Sodom. page 88
  • Schlegel, Bill. “Biblical Problems with Locating Sodom at Tall el-Hammam.” BiblePlaces, January 4, 2012.
  • Shea, William H. “Two Palestinian Segments from the Eblaite Geographical Atlas.” In Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman in Celebration of His Sixtieth Birthday, edited by Carol L. Meyers and M. O’Connor, 589–612. American Schools of Oriental Research. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1983. See "Fact 32: Shea's Identification of Cities Based on the Eblaite Geographic Atlas is Suspect." Graves, Key Facts for the Location of Sodom. page 88.
  • Wood, Bryant G. “Have Sodom And Gomorrah Been Found?” Bible and Spade 3, no. 3 (1974): 65–90. Here Wood identifies Bab edh-Dhra with Zeboiim and not Sodom.
  • Wood, Bryant G. “The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.” Bible and Spade 12, no. 3 (1999): 67–80.
  • Wood, Bryant G. “Locating Sodom: A Critique of the Northern Proposal.” Bible and Spade 20, no. 3 (2007): 78–84.
  • Udd, Kris J. “Bab Edh-Dhraʿ, Numeira, and the Biblical Patriarchs: A Chronological Study.” Ph.D. diss., Andrews University, 2011. I have noticed several errors in the facts which he presents in this dissertation. You should use it with caution and double check his sources and facts.
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Sulfur Balls Response https://smyrnaean.blogspot.com/2022/06/sodom-sulfur-ball-video.html Modified Oct 17, 2023. Copyright © 2018 Electronic Christian Media

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1 comment:

Hogan Baker said...

Thanks so much for this guide!

7:45 PM

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