[music playing]
NARRATOR: In the lower Jordan River Valley, 8 miles north
of the Dead Sea, a distinct ridge rises from the landscape.
But this is no ordinary ridge because buried under layers
of dirt and rock are the ruins of an ancient city that
dates back almost 4,000 years.
Modern archaeologists have named the site Tall el-Hammam.
When you look at Tall el-Hammam
from satellite imagery, it's long and it's narrow.
It's about a mile from end to end.
We believe that as many as 50,000
people occupied the city.
NARRATOR: According to experts, Tall el-Hammam
is shrouded in mystery.
We don't know what it was named in ancient times
or who lived there.
But in recent years, some archaeologists
have theorized that Tall el-Hammam is actually the ruins
of the Biblical city of Sodom.
AMIR HUSSAIN: In Genesis, you have these cities,
Sodom and Gomorrah.
And there's wickedness.
There's inequity in the city.
But then God decides, no, this city is
doing horrible kinds of things.
So I'm literally going to rain fire, sulfur down.
I'm going to destroy this city.
[music playing]
STEVEN COLLINS: God said, enough is enough.
Fire and burning stone came forth out of the heavens
from Yahweh and consumed the city.
[roaring flames]
In fact, the Bible says that every person,
crop, plant, tree, twig, anything that was living
was destroyed.
[crackling flames]
The Sodom and Gomorrah story is fascinating in that it's
meant to be a metaphor, an understanding of,
oh, when human beings don't do what they should do,
here's what God does to destroy us.
It's God's power being manifested.
It's an act of God.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
has long been associated with the wrath of God.
Until recently, many scholars thought
that the story was only a myth.
So why do some experts now believe
that Tall el-Hammam could be the remains of the city of Sodom?
There is more geographical data in the Biblical text
for the location of Sodom than there
is for any other Biblical site.
The Bible was very, very clear that it was
north and east of the Dead Sea.
And it was very clear that it was east of Jerusalem.
And Tall el-Hammam matches geographics of the text.
It matches the time frame of the text.
It matches all the possible descriptions
as the text describes it.
NARRATOR: The idea that Tall el-Hammam
matches the location of Sodom in the Bible is intriguing.
[scraping]
And researchers also claim that there is physical evidence
on site that confirms the Biblical description
of Sodom's destruction.
The actual destruction event is recorded in just two verses
in Genesis, Chapter 19, Verses 24 and 25, where it talks
about the fact that rock and fire came down from the Heavens
and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
One theory is that an incoming meteor
or meteor fragment exploded over the north end of the Dead Sea--
[explosion]
--and destroyed Tall el-Hammam.
There are numerous proxies that give
strong indication that an air burst
or impact event have occurred.
The first is the evidence of thermal damage
that's represented through melted building materials
and partially melted pottery fragments.
The second is the appearance and occurrence of microspherules--
very, very tiny spherical-shaped melted pieces
of mineral grains and sands.
And the third is a high concentration
of rare Earth elements.
Rare Earth elements are very common in asteroids,
not so common on the Earth.
What's interesting is that the middle layer of Tall Hammam
has a really high salt concentration.
It's so salty that a lot of times we
excavate pottery that's just coated
with thick salt crystals.
That's pretty unusual.
Why is that layer so salty?
Well, it's the same salt as found in the Dead Sea, probably
because this air-burst event--
[explosion]
--pushed a massive amount of dirt, water,
and salt over the landscape.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: A meteor explosion in the sky?
If Tall el-Hammam really was Sodom,
could such an explosion be the reason
why the city is now buried in dirt that has
a high concentration of salt?
Some experts believe the answer is yes.
And they point to the Biblical story
for further evidence of the connection
between the destruction of Sodom and salt.
The story of Sodom essentially picks up in Genesis 19,
where you have these two angels that
look like men who travel down to visit Lot,
who's living down in Sodom.
And Lot shows them tremendous hospitality.
You're supposed to be kind to immigrants.
You're supposed to be kind to foreigners, as Lot has done.
God has decided to destroy the city because of its wickedness.
So the angels grab Lot and his family.
And as they're leaving Sodom, the angels
give them the command, don't even look back.
And then you have this fascinating detail,
where it says that Lot's wife turned and look back.
And she turned into a pillar of salt.
NARRATOR: What could be the significance of Lot's wife
turning into a pillar of salt?
Does this detail from the story support the theory
that a meteor explosion in the sky
buried Sodom in dirt and salt?
Perhaps.
But is a meteor explosion a natural event,
or is it an act of God?
There has been a lot of question
about fire and brimstone coming down from the Heavens, right?
This is one of these unexplained mysteries.
[explosion]
And there have been a lot of theories.
And this probably has something to do with wanting
evidence that proves faith.
A lot of people believe in these stories.
And archaeology can confirm them.
I think from a point of view of science,
as we look at the Biblical text, and we look at the statement
of this was fire and burning stone from God out
of the Heavens, if such an event actually
occurred, would it have left some evidences around?
Well, of course, yes.
That's all confirmed by the science.
Now, science can't tell me one way or the other
whether it's an act of God.
But the event is confirmed.