Bab edh-Dhra
Encyclopedia
Bab edh-Dhra is the site of an Early Bronze Age
city, located near the Dead Sea
, in Wadi Kerak, forwarded as a candidate for the location of Biblical Sodom
.
Bitumen and petroleum
deposits have been found in the area, which contain sulfur
and natural gas
(as such deposits normally do), and one theory suggests that a pocket of natural gas led to the incineration of the city.
The location of the site is (approximately) 31.253928°N, 35.534184°E (by correlating the maps at EDSP with Google Earth. The site can be viewed here.
Artifacts from Bab edh-Dhra are on display at Karak Archaeological Museum in Jordan; and the Kelso Bible Lands Museum housed at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
city, located near the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
, in Wadi Kerak, forwarded as a candidate for the location of Biblical Sodom
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
.
Bitumen and petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
deposits have been found in the area, which contain sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
(as such deposits normally do), and one theory suggests that a pocket of natural gas led to the incineration of the city.
The location of the site is (approximately) 31.253928°N, 35.534184°E (by correlating the maps at EDSP with Google Earth. The site can be viewed here.
Artifacts from Bab edh-Dhra are on display at Karak Archaeological Museum in Jordan; and the Kelso Bible Lands Museum housed at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
External links
- http://vm.arts.unimelb.edu.au/report/babedhra.html
- http://www.dantiques.com/bab-edh-dhra/
- EDSP (Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain)