The destruction of the southern end of the Dead Sea has been shown to be an actual event, which agrees with the Bible that the plain was destroyed and all that was in it. It should come as no surprise that the cities that have been discovered cannot be identified with the Biblical cities. According to inscriprions outside the Bible they did exist, but according to archeologists, part of the plain at the southern tip of the Dead Sea does not exist anymore.There are inscriptions from Syria and Egypt that contain the name word Sdm, which has been translated as Sodom, although there is no proof that is correct. The root for Sodom is possibly not even Hebrew in origin. It is the same Sdm that was translated into Shittim in the story of the Exodus. It was a type of Acacia used by the Egyptians for furniture, coffins and other small objects that did not require strong wood or long planks. The ancient Hebrew that has been interpreted as Sodom was Cdom, pronounced sed-ome, and indicated a burnt area, such as a volcano. It also meant walled as well as bitumen. With the southern end of the Dead Sea being full of slime pits and Mesopotamians stealing from the slime pits, bitimun is a more likely definition of Sodom, although it is even possible that the city was named “Walled City” or even “Acacia”. Gen.20:24 states: "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimestone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven.3Gen.20:25"And he overthrew those cities and all the plain ,and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground".
There is archaeological evidence that the part of the southern plain may have been swallowed up by the dead Sea. The area around the Dead Sea, and especially toward the southern end is and always has been a dangerous place. It is part of the Great Rift valley that runs from the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon to central Mozambique in East Africa. From the Dead Sea southwards, the rift is occupied by the Wadi Arabah and then the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. The rift can be seen clearly in satellite photos. The southern end of the Red Sea marks a fork in the rift, and forms the Sinai peninsula. The fissure that runs through the Jordan valley contains high concentrations of gas. Even today the evaporation pools at the southern end of the Dead Sea smells like rotten eggs and contain lumps of asphalt(bitamun). Dr.Phillip Hammond explains that the Dead Sea Valley is much like it was 4,000 years ago. "The area is full of sulphur,salt,asphalt and bitumen coming out of the surface of the water.I've seen people standing on blocks of asphalt in the Dead Sea. There are vapors all over the place .It is an accident waiting to happen".
There is underground heat, as can be seen in the hot springs on both sides of the Dead Sea. Oil regularly seeps to the surface creating oils slicks on the water. Big chunks of tar asphalt occasionally come floating to the surface. These were collected and sold, and one of the things the Amorites were after when they invaded the cities of the plain. Some archaeologists believe that an earthquake opened the fissure releasing gas, which was ignited by campfires. The heavy concentration of gas caused a tremendous explosion that threw super heated salt, water and asphalt high into the air. At the same time, anything that didn't disintegrate may have fallen into the fissure. Water rushed into the fissure, creating an extension to the lake, making it ten miles longer. There are other theories about what actually happened, but it is evident looking at a map of the Dead Sea that it has been enlarged. There is a peninsula jutting out into the sea from the western edge, near the southern tip that appears out of place with the rest of the landscape. It is believed that was the southernmost shore of the sea prior to the destruction.
Archeologist's have discovered a pilgrimage site on what is called Mt. Usdum, which showed continuous use until around 1900 BCE, when the pilgrimages suddenly stopped. It is an 11-mile range of pure salt. On top of it stands the block of salt known as Lot’s wife a weathered formation that, without too much imagination, resembles a woman turning back to see God’s fury unleashed against the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The discovery not only shows that there were populated cities around the southern tip of the Dead Sea, prior to the time of Abraham, but that the population was drastically and suddenly reduced. One of the destroyed towns, Bab edh Dhra, discovered by archaeologists was estimated to have had a population of 500,000.The site of Bab-edh-Dhra was discovered by Melvn Kyle in 1924 on the Lisan Peninsula in the southern Half of the Dead Sea. It has been excavated by others, including Wm. Albright.
“All the evidence points to a Canaanitish city dating from the time of Abraham which was burned and left uninhabited for several hundred years. “
More digging was done in 1965, 1967, 1973 and 1979. [1] Archaeologists discovered a 23-inch thick wall that circled the city, along with numerous houses and a large temple. Along with the grave sites, this showed the city was well populated during the early Bronze Age, when Abraham lived. Most intriguing was the evidence that a massive fire had destroyed the city. It lay beneath a layer of ash several feet thick. A cemetery only one kilometer (a little more than half a mile) outside the city contained charred remains of roofs, posts, and bricks that had turned red from intense heat.
