Exciting New Archaeological Evidence Uncovered could be the Site of Biblical Sodom
Brian Nixon (December 12, 2011)
"It may be too early to say, but initial evidence points towards a large-scale destruction from a catastrophic event. I say this because, in that area, the skeletal remains were traumatized by an east-to-west directional event, demonstrating that the catastrophe came from a particular compass point." –Dr. Collins
(Tall el-Hammam)—Archaeological digs, especially those that seem to confirm events and peoples' lives in the Bible, have always caught my attention. In the ASSIST News article below, reporter Brian Nixon describes the recent findings of Dr. Steven Collins of Trinity Southwest University in Albuquerque, NM.
Suspecting that the traditionally held locations for the city of Sodom—which, according to the Bible, was destroyed by God with brimstone and fire—were wrong, Dr. Collins, after much research, pinpointed a new location for a dig.
Below is an excerpt from Brian's article detailing what Dr. Collins and his team discovered in that archaeological dig. Click on the source link to read the full article. -Aimee Herd, BCN.
Dr. Collins and his team began digging at a new site [last year], Tall el-Hammam, which corresponded to several factors. Dr. Collins summarized the end result: "To start with, the Tall el-Hammam site has twenty-five geographical indicators that align with the description in Genesis. Compare this with something well known—like Jerusalem—that has only sixteen. Other sites have only five or six. So this site has a greater number of indicators than any other Old Testament site. That is truly amazing. (Photo: ANS)
"Second, our findings—pottery, architecture, and destruction layers—fit the timeframe profile. Meaning we should expect to find items like what we are finding from the Middle Bronze Age. This is exactly what we are uncovering.
"Lastly, we have secured internationally recognized experts to review our findings. One such person is Dr. Robert Mullins; then there are our colleagues from the Department of Antiquities in Jordan. Dr. Mullins is an expert in Bronze Age pottery, and there are many others as well. My ceramic expertise also covers the Bronze Age. Their conclusions on the matter reflect that our findings are correct. Once again, this is incredible."
"Though we are still digging and uncovering a plethora of material and artifacts, and much research still needs to be conducted, I feel that the evidence for this being the ancient city of Sodom is increasing by the day."
The bottom line was that the findings of Dr. Collins' team in Jordan were producing great results—all pointing to the city of Sodom.
Now let's fast-forward a year.
As I met Dr. Collins at Solomon's Porch Café (aptly named title for our meeting) in Albuquerque, I could tell something exciting was afoot.
We sat down with our tea and coffee and began to chat.
I started by asking some simple questions: "How long was this particular dig?"
"The dig was from December 6, 2010 through January 28, 2011," Dr. Collins replied.
Did you bring a team?
"Yes, 120 of us split between Jordanian workers and staff, Trinity Southwest University staff, and volunteers from around the world."
Was the location in the exact place as last year? I asked.
"Yes. We call this the Premier location. What made this dig exciting, however," Dr. Collin's shifted in his chair with enthusiasm as he continued, "Is that the Director General of Antiquities spent a good deal of time with us."
"You see, in Jordan, the news of this find has created large interest. As a matter of fact, one of the leading archaeologists from Jordan stated: 'This is perhaps the most important archaeological discovery of the modern era.'" (Photo: ANS)
"What the Jordanian's—and many others—are beginning to see is the mounting evidence for Sodom," Dr. Collins concluded.
Beyond last year's discoveries, what new evidence are you referring to? I enthusiastically wondered aloud.
"To put it simply, we have uncovered evidence of a massive, violent destruction."
Such as? I prodded him.
"To begin with, ash and destruction layers in the terminal Bronze Age strata MB-2," Dr. Collins replied.
He continued: "But the real big news is that we found skeletal remains that demonstrate a quick, violent death."
Amazed, I asked for the background of this discovery.
"It began three years ago when we found some skeletal remains. Like many archaeological sites, we didn't mention the find publicly because of the potential problems involved with such remains. However, with these recent finds, we had to say something because it was so monumental.
"It began when one of our doctoral students, Carrall Kobs, was supervising on site. She discovered two sets of human remains, then another. Concerned, she called me over. I asked her to walk me through the discovery and excavation process, asking important questions along the way. What we found was ash, debris, and destruction material with no indication of insertion cuts for graves or primitive burial indentations. They weren't burials.
"To add further intrigue, this archaeological stratum was clearly within the Middle Bronze Age horizon. It was the terminal destruction of the city."
Tell me more about the skeletons, I asked.
"Two of our osteologists, Dr. John Leslie, PhD, MD, and Dr. John Moore, PhD, DDS, looked over the bones. The area they concentrated on was the bottom half of the body, including the pelvis region, legs, and feet—the upper portions on two of them were missing. The initial results were amazing and quite exciting archaeologically—but sad in how the people died. They found the bodies splayed out, face down, joints twisted, toes hyper-extended, with many signs of violent burial within collapsing debris. In short, the bodies were extremely traumatized in their death.
"Shortly after, we discovered a child body one meter north. The child's skeleton showed the same destruction, demonstrating traumatic demise."
How so? I was quite curious.
"The legs were flexed in the wrong way, the knee joints were ripped apart, one arm was broken with left palm up, and the other arm was smashed under the pelvis. In all, it showed the signs of a sudden, ghastly death."
Any other skeletal remains? I prodded.
"Yes. We're still investigating these. But generally speaking, skeletal remains were found throughout the area, following the same patterns. One skeleton seems to be crouching, as if in fear, protecting itself from the destruction."
So what can one conclude from all this? I asked.
"It may be too early to say, but initial evidence points towards a large-scale destruction from a catastrophic event. I say this because, in that area, the skeletal remains were traumatized by an east-to-west directional event, demonstrating that the catastrophe came from a particular compass point."
Naively, I asked what they did with the skeletons.
"We took extreme care and precautions in working with the skeletons, going above and beyond protocol. Our goal was to ensure the safety and preservation of all the remains embedded in the ground."
This is a significant find, I agreed. But is there more?
"Yes, much more. In the same geographical matrix we found ash, pottery, mud bricks, and objects, all pointing to a Middle Bronze Age time frame—the time of Abram and Lot.
Read more about this exciting find at the source link provided.
Source: ASSIST News
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