The Search for Biblical Sodom Changes Location

Teresa Neumann : May 5, 2011
Dan McLerran - Popular Archaeology

"Archaeologically speaking, it is one of the most exciting sites that you can imagine because there is so much to be figured out. There are so many things [yet] to discover, so much analysis to be done. We're touching on the periods of the Israelites, kings of the Ammonites, the people of the Bible who hung out in this area. It is very exciting, not just from the standpoint of the "cities of the Plain", but for later periods, as well." -Dr. Steven Collins

A new report in Popular Archaeology covers the ongoing search for the Biblical Sodom. For years, the general consensus was that the site was located on the southeast end of the Dead Sea, but digs have come up with nothing.

Notes the report: "What is now emerging as the most promising new prospect for Sodom, according to a number of scholars, is a site called Tall el-Hammam located approximately 14 kilometers northeast of the Dead Sea in the fertile southern Jordan River Valley of Jordan. Nestled among lush agricultural fields, it is a mound (or Tall) that rises conspicuously from a ground space encompassing one square kilometer, a very large site by any comparison. Dr. Steven Collins of Trinity Southwest University began research related to Sodom by carefully examining the biblical text in Genesis, along with geographic study and intense, broad-based archaeological surveys. All indicators brought him to the location of Tall el-Hammam."

"Every turn of the spade reinforces the occupational profile predicted for Sodom [according to biblical chronology]," said Dr.Steven Collins of Trinity Southwest University.

Click on the link provided to read about the excavations in detail.