Tall el-Hamman has been an ongoing location of scientific and religious controversy. Many have questioned and believed that it might be the biblical city of Sodom.

In the Book of Genesis, Sodom and Gomorrah were filled to the brim with wickedness and disdain for God. In response to their unrepentance, God demolished the two cities for how evil their land became. One particular civilian, Lot, was saved by two angels who told him and his family to flee without looking back. Unfortunately, Lot’s wife remained behind and was disintegrated into a pile of salt. A storm of fire and brimstone descended from the sky, the cities were ruined, thick clouds of smoke ascended from the fires, and every living thing was destroyed.

A recent scientific study states that the two infamous biblical “sin cities” of Sodom and Gomorrah may have been taken down by a meteor “cloudburst.” The theory states that an enormous space rock detonated over the village around 3,650 years ago, creating a giant ball of fire. Research scientists also claim that the same catastrophic series of events possibly caused Jericho’s walls’ “tumbling down” just 20 miles away.

What is known today as Tall el-Hammam was the biblical epicenter of Jordan. A historic palace was crushed, as well as its walls and many other structures. The fiery explosion took place around two miles above the ground.

The intense disfiguration and bone fissures of the found human remains indicate they were incinerated or involved in an explosion. “We saw evidence for temperatures greater than 2,000 degrees Celsius,” stated study lead author and UCSB Professor James Kennett.

A global research team discovered building materials and melted pottery fragments. The mud bricks that were found had heat bubbles. These findings insinuate they were affected by extremely high temperatures, similar to the raining fire destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. No technology existed at the time that could have caused this supreme level of damage.

More evidence supported the theory when melted metal samples, such as iron and silica, were analyzed from samples of soil and sediments.

“I think one of the main discoveries is shocked quartz. These are sand grains containing cracks that form only under very high pressure. We have shocked quartz from this layer. That means there were incredible pressures involved to shock the quartz crystals. Quartz is one of the hardest minerals. It is very hard to shock,” the study leader reported.

Additionally, the basement layer of the ground contained a 25% concentration of salt. This high salinity value could very likely be caused by the aftereffects of a scorching ball of fire. “The salt was thrown up due to the high impact pressures,” Prof. Kennett theorized. “There is evidence of a large cosmic fireball, close to Tall el-Hammam.”

“All the observations stated in Genesis are consistent with a cosmic fireball. But there is no scientific proof this destroyed city is indeed the Sodom of the Old Testament.” Prof. Kennett concluded about the phenomenon.

Although the exact location of the Biblical events remains unknown, Prof. Kennett clarified the region’s importance. “It is an incredibly culturally important area. It is where much early cultural complexity of humans developed,” he added.