Bab edh-Dhra' is an Early Bronze Age (c. 3200-1950 BCE) site located in the vicinity of the Lisan peninsula, on the plain of the Dead Sea in Jordan. The first archaeological excavation at Bab edh-Dhra' took place in 1923 and identified Early Bronze Age settlements on the Dead Sea plain. The aim of the initial excavation was to uncover biblical settlements, but it is unclear whether they were successful.
The ancient name of the archaeological town in Bab edh-Dhra’ remains unknown, and some researchers believe it is the biblical city of Sodom. During the Early Bronze Age a permanent town site was built, with an adjacent cemetery. The settlement was destroyed ca 2350 BCE. Many biblical researchers believe that Sodom would have existed during the Middle Bronze Age (ca 2165 - 1550 BCE), in which case the dating might be problematic.
The current estimate of the town’s population stands at around 9,900 individuals. The cemetery’s early phases show inconsistencies in the burial practices. Two types of tombs were found in the settlement: the shaft tombs which consisted of a shaft and a small underground chamber; and the charnel houses consisting of a mudbrick structure. The charnel houses were either circular or rectangular, however, the rectangular ones were abandoned when the settlement became fortified. Researchers hypothesize that the charnel houses represent kinship and that the people buried in the same grave were related in some way, other researchers claim that the houses are secondary burials.
The original excavators believed that sealed tombs indicated a single-use tomb. To support their argument that the tombs were single use, they drew attention to the lack of late pottery and the fact that it did not appear to be a primary burial. If the population was nomadic, then it would be possible that this was a secondary burial site. They would bury their dead in whichever area they were in at the time, and when they eventually returned to this site with the remains, they would rebury them properly. Therefore, a burial could be of several individuals who did not die simultaneously, but rather that the tribes did not go to the cemetery to bury only one individual. Another explanation would be that the tomb was kept unsealed over the years and was reopened to include the newly deceased. When the tomb was deemed full (or the last of the family was included), then it would be sealed.
Whether this settlement was actually the biblical Sodom is difficult to tell. Some have argued that the settlement is too small to be Sodom, it is not in the right geographic area and it did not exist during the correct time period. There is disagreement on these points as others argue that based on the biblical account it is indeed the right geographic area and that the dating of the destruction of Bab edh-Dhra’ is not reliable. Unfortunately, it is impossible to be certain at this time without further study.
Text: Anna Sunneborn Gudnadottir. MENAM Archaeology. Copyright 2022.
Images: Wikimedia Commons.
Further Reading:
R. Thomas Schaub, and Walter E. Rast. The Southeastern Dead Sea Plain Expedition: An Interim Report of the 1977 Season. The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 46. Boston, Mass.: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1979.
Paul W. Lapp, "Bab Edh-Dhraʿ", Revue Biblique 73 (1966): 556–61; Paul W. Lapp, "Bab Edh-Dhraʿ Tomb A 76 and Early Bronze I in Palestine", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 189 (1968): 12–41
Wood, Bryant G. (1999). "The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah". Bible and Spade. 12: 66–88.
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