980: 37). The destruction of the charnel houses at Bab edh-Dhra was brought about by the roofs first being set on fire, then collapsing, causing the i

ra (Ben-Tor 1992: 123). It is entirely within the realm of possibility, therefore, that the destruction of Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira could have occurred at the Biblical date of ca. 2070 BC. We shall have to await further discoveries before an accurate archaeological date can be assigned to the end of EB III.Time of Year When the Destruction Occurred There is one additional correlation that can be made between the Biblical record and the archaeological findings—the time of year when the earthquake occurred. As pointed out by William Shea, the time can be set at late spring or early summer (1988: 21–22). When the angels visited Abraham the Lord announced, "I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son"..."At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son" (Gn 18:10, 14, RSV). If we assume that conception occurred approximately one month after the announcement, it would place the visit of the angels, and thus the destruction of the Cities of the Plain, in the late spring or early summer.The well-preserved ruins at Numeira produced a number of surprises, including whole grapes. (11) During the 1977 season a large cache was found. It is remarkable, for example, that the grapes in Locus 17 of SE 3/1 were preserved even with their outer skins, due perhaps to the burning material which collapsed over the area and sealed these items (Rast 1981: 43). Although carbonized whole grapes have been reported from Salamis, Hesban and Jericho, the size of the Numeira hoard, which consisted of over 700 whole grapes, is very uncommon (McCreery 1981: 168). The fact that the grapes were intact indicates that they were freshly harvested. In the hot climate of the Dead Sea valley the harvesting of grapes occurs earlier than other parts of the country—in the late spring or early summer. In the 1981 season more grapes were found, prompting the excavator to comment on the chronological implications: The infrequent small finds included...more whole carbonized grapes with the stems attached and what preliminary analysis indicates were carbonized watermelon seeds (both evidence for dating the destruction of the site to late spring) (Coogan 1984:77). Conclusion When the archaeological, geographical and epigraphic evidence is reviewed in detail, it is clear that the infamous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah have now been found. What is more, this evidence demonstrates that the Bible provides an accurate eyewitness account of events that occurred southeast of the Dead Sea over 4,000 years ago. Recommended Resources for Further StudyBible and SpadeCD-ROM Archaeology andthe Old Testament Bible and SpadeSummer 1999 Footnotes (1) For previous articles on Sodom and Gomorrah in Bible and Spade, see Wood 1974, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983; Shea 1988.(2) Large pools of water can be observed in the former area of the southern basin, but these are artificial ponds associated with thriving potash industries operated by Israel and Jordan. Water from the Dead Sea is directed to the pools (salt pans) where it is evaporated, allowing valuable salts to be harvested.(3) The Lisan peninsula divides the main, northern, body of the Dead Sea from the shallow southern basin.(4) We find such references only for Zoar. There are no later references to the other Cities of the Plain, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah or Zeboiim, as living communities.(5) The "Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea)" in Genesis 14:3, 8 and 10 is undoubtedly the shallow basin south of the Lisan Peninsula which, in later times when the level of the Dead Sea was higher, became an extension of the Dead Sea. The valley had many pits of hemor or bitumen. This asphalt-like petroleum product was commonly found in the southern basin of the Dead Sea throughout antiquity. The name "Siddim" derives from the verb saded which means "to harrow." Wherever the verb is used in the Old Testament, it is in an agricultural context (Jb 39:10; Is 28:24; Hos 10:11) (Howard 1988a).(6) It is possible that these two events, the attack of the coalition of Mesopotamian



kings described in Genesis 14 and the destruction
Cities of the Plain described in Genesis 19, were significant contributing factors in the demise of the Early Bronze III culture in Canaan.(7) The original epigrapher of the Ebla expedition, Giovanni Pettinato, claimed in 1976 to have found the names Sodom, Gomorrah and Zoar/Bela in the Ebla tablets. Alfonso Archi, Pettinato's successor as Ebla epigrapher, vigorously contested this. See the discussion in Shea 1983: 608–609.(8) 1450 Exodus (1 Kgs 6:1; Jgs 11:26) + 430, length of Egyptian Sojourn (Ex 12:40), + 130, Jacob's age when he entered Egypt (Gn 47:9), + 60, Isaac's age when Jacob was born (Gn 25:26), + 1, the pregnancy of Sarah with Isaac = 2071 BC.(9) Carbon 14 dates for the end of the EB III period at both Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira are much too early and have been disregarded by the excavators (Rast and Schaub 1980: 45–47). Similarly, C14 dates for the end of the succeeding EB IVA period of 2200 BC (Schaub 1993:136), may be too early.(10) The end of EB III is given as 2350 BC in the AnRosetta Stone German