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Lost Cities of the Bible

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Image: View from Bab edh-Dhra archaeological site

Lost Cities of the Bible

In the Bible, God destroys the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and sides with Joshua to conquer another misbehaving city: Jericho. Are these stories true or simply moral fables? Archaeological and geological evidence holds the answer.

Lost Cities of the Bible , Lost Cities , Fire cascades over Soddom and Gomorrah.

Lost Cities of the Bible,Remains of Early Bronze Age city wall at the Numeira archaeological site.

Lost Cities of the Bible,Sediment layers reveal the declining water levels at the Dead Sea.

Lost Cities of the Bible,Scenic view of Jericho.

Image: Remains of the Byzantine monastery at Lot's Cave

Lost Cities of the Bible,Remains of the Byzantine Monastery at Lot's Cave.

Lost Cities of the Bible,Stained glass of Abraham.

Lost Cities of the Bible,View from Bab edh-Dhra archaeological site.

Handcuffs representing National Geographic Channel show Lost Cities of the Bible

LONG LOST CITIES

For years Biblical scholars have been on a scavenger hunt for the "Lost Cities" of Sodom and Gomorrah. Centuries after these sinful cities, God conquers another misbehaving city: Jericho. What do we know about these cities or are they simply moral fables?

According to the Bible, God destroyed the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by raining down fire and brimstone. Before destroying the cities, Abraham convinced God to save Abraham’s nephew, Lot, from the destruction. God sent angels to Sodom to warn Lot’s family to leave and not look back. As they left the city, Lot’s wife, not heeding the warning of the angels, looked back at Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt.

The earthquake that some believe could have destroyed the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is thought to have been at least a magnitude of 6.8. Earthquakes of this magnitude can cause fires, and in those days perhaps uncontrollable fires that destroyed the cities.

Some scholars place the Biblical cities in current-day Iraq, at Mashkin-Shapir; others posit that the cities were buried under the Dead Sea. The remains of these cities have never been found, though some believe the strongest candidates for Sodom and Gomorrah can be found in the archaeological remains of the Early Bronze Age cities of Babe Edh-Dhra and Numeira, to the East of the Dead Sea.

Archaeologist and Biblical Scholar William Foxwell Albright of Johns Hopkins University put Bab edh-Dhra on the map in 1924, identifying it as a Bronze Age site with a possible connection to Sodom.

The site of Bab edh-Dhra’ was occupied for a period of 1300 years, beginning with camp site activity and progressing to village life and a walled town culture before returning to an open village in the last stages.

According to the Bible, Joshua and the Israelites conquered the heavily fortified city of Jericho. The Book of Joshua notes that Jericho was strongly fortified, that the attack occurred just after harvest time in the spring, that the inhabitants had no opportunity to flee with their foodstuffs, that the siege was short, that the walls were leveled, possibly by an earthquake, and that the city was not plundered or burned. Many of these points have been corroborated by the archaeological record during excavations at Jericho.

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