Explorations on the - Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project, Jordan

ever be given the opportunity to articulate her long-buried secrets? As I let the reddish-brown
dirt slip through my fingers, I spoke aloud as if to Tall el-Hammam herself: “Maybe someday
you’ll tell us what you know.” Near the bottom of her eastern slope, as I approached the bus, I
made a quick turn toward the tall (no pillar of salt this time!) and promised, “I’ll be back.”
APPLYING THE CRITERIAL SCREEN TO CANDIDATE SITES ON THE EASTERN
JORDAN DISK (KIKKAR), PARTICULARLY TALL EL-HAMMAM
So, at this point in time, how does Tall el-Hammam stand up to the criterial screen of biblical
parameters for Sodom? In fact, remarkably well:
8. Q: Are the ruins of Tall el-Hammam and its related sites located north of the Dead Sea
within the flat, circular area identified as the biblical Kikkar? A: Yes.
9. Q: Are the ruins of Tall el-Hammam and its related sites located on the eastern half of the
Kikkar, between the Jordan River and the foothills of the Transjordan highlands? A: Yes.
10. Q: Is Tall Kefrein (even Tall Rama) (Gomorrah?) in close proximity to Tall el-Hammam
(Sodom?)? A: Yes (they are about one to three kilometers distance, respectively).
11. Q: Does any stratum from the excavation of Tall el-Hammam or its related sites reveal
that the cities were occupied and operational during MB? A: Yes.
12. Q: Does any stratum from the excavation of Tall el-Hammam or its related sites include
the remains of a typical MB fortified city? A: Yes.
13. Q: Did the excavations at Tall el-Hammam or any of its related sites unearth evidence of
their destruction during MB I or II? A: Yes (Tall Nimrim); likely (Tall el-Hammam and
related sites, which all seem to have the LB gap).
14. Q: Does the excavation data from Tall el-Hammam or its related sites reveal a long
occupational hiatus from the time of a MB destruction until any significant reoccupation?
A: Yes.
Although excavation needs to bring final confirmation of these points of correspondence to
the table, the present state of our knowledge is such that the hypothesis identifying Tall el-
Hammam as biblical Sodom is highly reasonable.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
At present, I see no other viable candidates for Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim. The
large sites of Tall Nimrin (with nearby Tall Mustah and Tall Bleibel) and Tall el-Hammam (with
nearby Tall Kefrein and Tall Rama) are in the right place (on the eastern Kikkar), with the right
geographical proximity (to qualify as doublets), with the right chronological configuration 92 (MB
I/II occupation), with the right architectural requirements 93 (at least one, and probably both, of
the large cities were fortified during MB), with the right kind of terminal event (an abrupt end
92 The MB II occupation of Tall Nimrin (based on excavation) and Tall el-Hammam (at this point based on sherding) presents
some interesting problems and possibilities.
93 Again, this is somewhat of an extrapolation from Tall Nimrin, but the biblical text only requires Sodom to be fortified, not
necessarily Admah. However, it is reasonable to assume that both large Kikkar cities would have been fortified.
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