Bab edh-Dhra


Bab edh-Dhra is the site of an Early Bronze Age city located near the Dead Sea, on the south bank of Wadi Kerak with dates in the EB IB, EB II, EB II-III and EB IVA. Bab edh-Dhra was discovered in 1924 on an expedition led by William F. Albright. Artifacts from Bab edh-Dhra are on display at Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth, Jordan; Karak Archaeological Museum in Jordan; the Kelso Bible Lands Museum housed at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA, USA; The Gustav Jeeninga Museum of Bible and Near Eastern Studies in Anderson, IN, USA; and the British Museum in London.

Possible causes of downfall

The ancient name of Bab-edh-Dhra still remains unidentified. Some biblical scholars argue that this was the site of "Sodom". Other archaeologists disagree. Unlike the neighboring ruins of Numeira, Bab edh-Dhra does not appear to have been destroyed by a significant fire. Numeira and Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ were destroyed at different times, about 250 years apart. While the early conclusions of Rast and Schaub, that Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ and Numeira were both destroyed at approximately the same time, are often reported, it is now known that their individual destruction was separated by approximately two and a half centuries, with the destruction of Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ at ca. 2350 BC and Numeira at ca. 2600 BC. Instead, archaeological evidence suggests that the site was abandoned by its inhabitants, but also "suffered exposure to fire". Other possible reasons this site may not be the biblical Sodom are because the village was too small, not in the designated geographical area and did not exist in the appropriate time period. Bab Edh-Dhraʿ was destroyed in 2350 BC, while most biblical scholars believe that the Patriarchs lived in the Middle Bronze period. Supporters of the Southern Sodom theory have argued that, on closer examination to the biblical account, this does fit the geographical description of where Sodom would be located. They also argue that a set time frame for its destruction is not necessarily reliable. Proponents of the Southern Sodom theory have put forward various hypotheses to explain the causes of its abandonment. Rast suggested an earthquake or an external attack. Bitumen and petroleum deposits have been found in the area, which contain sulfur and natural gas, and one theory suggests that a pocket of natural gas led to the incineration of the city. However, archaeologists who worked at the site found no evidence of a conflagration, or indeed, any sort of catastrophe to explain the sudden desertion of its inhabitants.

Köfels Impact Event

The event was originally assumed to be a massive rockslide that occurred in the valley of Ötztal, Tirol, Austria, and discovered in the mid-19th century. A reevaluation of the evidence led researchers to believe that the valley may have been hit by a small asteroid in 3123 B.C.; the record of the observation of this event was carved into an Assyrian clay tablet known as the "Planisphere", which is believed to be a copy of the night diary of a Sumerian astronomer.
Some suspected the air burst of this asteroid to be behind the downfall of both Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira, but they were not yet built when the impact occurred. In fact, there only were shaft tombs present at Bab edh-Dhra dating to the Early Bronze 1A period circa 3200-3100 B.C. that were used by nomads in the region. A small village area was found dating to the EB 1B period circa 3100-3000 B.C. However, the actual walled town at Bab edh-Dhra was not started until the EB II period beginning circa 3000 B.C., reached its greatest extent during the Early Bronze III period circa 2500 B.C. and lasted through the EB IV period ending circa 2100 B.C. The Numeira walled town was only occupied during the Early Bronze III period. Thus, it is hard for these two towns to have been destroyed by an asteroid air burst in 3123 B.C. when they were not yet built and then lasted long after that date.

Cemetery

Two large cemeteries known as Khirbet Qazone are located across the modern road from the occupational ruins of Bab edh-Dhra and date to the earliest part of the Early Bronze Age until it was finally abandoned in 2350 BC. Three phrases of use, with different styles of burial were used.

Shaft Tombs

In the Early Bronze IA shaft tombs or ossuary style graves were used with an estimated 20,000 tombs that archaeologists estimated to account for over half a million bodies. The pits varied in size from.6-.9 meters in diameter and about.9 meters deep. These graves belong to the pre-urban period of the site and date to about 3150-3000 BC.

Charnel Houses

In the Early Bronze II and III period the method used for burial was rectangular mudbrick buildings called charnel houses or “body libraries.” All the human remains identified at Bâb edh-Dhrâʿ, have been confined to the cemetery and are not found in the destruction layer of the city.
Around 2900 BCE the residents of Bab edh-Dhra abandoned the subterranean Shaft tombs for above-ground rectangular charnel houses in the cemetery.. The rectangular charnel houses resembled the residential houses of the cities but with steps inside that led down to a pebbled floor where among the deceased were placed personal items such as beads, textiles, pottery and other objects of stone and metal. The destruction of the charnel houses occurred during the destruction of the city in 2350 BCE. There were four houses excavated and two others partially excavated with well dressed orthostats door posts, each over a meter in height, with a wooden door frame and inside the threshold the floor was packed with skulls and pottery. The buildings varied in size from 11.50 X 5.50 meters to 7 x 5 meters.

Tumulus Tombs

The cairn burial, that dated to the Early Bronze Age III, was the latest burial form found at the site. They were above-ground circular tombs made from mudbrick in which were found evidence of various mortuary practices. The tomb was a shallow pit where the body is laid with pottery and a dagger with a round heap of stones piled on top. It was the tombs used by those who conquered the city and burned it.

Literature