![](\"https:\/\/i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk\/incoming\/article30914397.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_Screen-Shot-2023-09-11-at-82315-AMjpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA theologian claims archaeological finds in Jordan are proof the biblical city of Sodom really existed.<\/p>\n
Scientists previously found evidence that the ancient city of Tall el-Hammam in the southern Jordan Valley was destroyed in a catastrophic event.<\/p>\n
And Dr John Bergsma, a Professor of Theology at Ohio\u2019s Franciscan University, suggests such an event mirrors what is in the Bible.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Biblical tale of Noah's Ark 'proven' in Grand Canyon with sea creatures 'frozen in time'<\/b><\/p>\n
According to Genesis, God rained sulphur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah for their "wickedness" \u2013 completely obliterating them.<\/p>\n
Examples of such devastation were seen in Tall el-Hammam and what was found completely changed Dr Bergsma's perspective on the Old Testament.<\/p>\n
He recalled evidence of extreme heating on skeletons and fragments of pottery found by the archaeologists which could have been proof of a direct hit from an asteroid.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
About 3,600 years ago the city of Tall el-Hammam was thriving \u2013 significantly larger and more powerful than Jerusalem or Jericho.<\/p>\n
But almost overnight it was gone.<\/p>\n
The absence of any arrowheads or other signs of a siege in the ruins suggested that whatever destroyed Tall el-Hammam and its neighbour, it wasn\u2019t a military attack.<\/p>\n
Steven Collins, the principal archaeologist at Tall el-Hammam, told Dr Bergsma about some of the astonishing findings.<\/p>\n
He discovered pieces of pottery discovered on the site had been covered in Trinitite.<\/p>\n
Trinitite, Dr Bergsma explained, is \u201cthat glass layer that you get when you set off an atomic bomb in the desert and it melts the sand\u201d.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk\/incoming\/article30914663.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_hq720.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Dr Bergsma continued: \u201cThey also started to find human remains. <\/p>\n
\u201cHuman skeletons that are complete up until about halfway up the backbone and then there's just a scorch mark and there's nothing on the top of the body\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cThey find massive evidence that a huge heat blast from the sky at about 25C above the horizon incinerated these twin cities on the Jordanian side of the river."<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk\/incoming\/article30914401.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_Screen-Shot-2023-09-11-at-82306-AMjpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Steven Collins likened the devastation to the Tunguska Event of 1908, when a massive asteroid slammed into the Earth\u2019s atmosphere over Siberia, causing widespread devastation.<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cThe proposed airburst was larger than the 1908 explosion over Tunguska, Russia, where a 50-metre-wide bolide detonated with 1,000 times more energy than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n
The airburst also appeared to have produced large amounts of salt, according to James Kennett, emeritus professor of earth science at the University of California.<\/p>\n
It calls to mind the story of Lot\u2019s wife being turned to salt after the destruction of Sodom.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk\/incoming\/article30914399.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_Screen-Shot-2023-09-11-at-83223-AMjpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe salt was thrown up due to the high impact pressures,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it may be that the impact partially hit the Dead Sea, which is rich in salt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some archaeologists have accused Mr Collins of jumping to conclusions without enough evidence. <\/p>\n
Professor Kennett has said that it\u2019s possible the event simply inspired later legends such as Sodom or the destruction of Jericho.<\/p>\n
But Dr Bergsma is convinced, saying: \u201cIt really changed my perspective on the Old Testament map because what it pointed out to me is things that sounded too outlandish to be history\u2026is actually shown to be a historical event.\u201d<\/p>\n
To get more stories from Daily Star delivered straight to your inbox sign up to one of our free newsletters<\/i> here. <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/b> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/b> <\/i> <\/i> <\/i> <\/b> <\/b><\/p>\n