At that time an archaeological survey of the area southeast of the Dead Sea was conducted by Walter Rast and Thomas Schaub in conjunction with their work at Bab edh-Dhra, an Early Bronze (ca. It wasn't until 1973 that solid archaeological evidence for locating the Cities of the Plain was found. (2) Extensive exploration and activity in the area has produced no evidence to indicate that there were ancient sites there (Rast 1987a: 193). The level of the Dead Sea has receded substantially in recent years, causing the southern basin to dry up. One popular theory, repeated yet today, is that the Cities of the Plain were located in the plain south of the Dead Sea and later covered by the waters of the southern basin, never to be seen again. Bitumen (a natural petroleum product similar to asphalt) was commonly found in the shallow southern basin of the Dead Sea in antiquity. The reference to "bitumen pits" in Genesis 14:10, however, tips the scale in favor of a southern location (Howard 1984). Various commentators over the centuries have suggested locations both north and south (Mulder 1992: 101 102). Since the mountains come close to the shore on both the east and west, the cities must have been located either north or south of the Dead Sea. From references to the "plain of the Jordan" (Gn 13:10), "the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea)" (Gn 14:3) and Abraham looking down to see the Cities of the Plain from the area of Hebron (Gn 19:28), it is clear that the cities were located in the vicinity of the Dead Sea. Sodom and Gomorrah were two of five cities referred to in Scripture as the Cities of the Plain. The presence of such traditional motifs in the Biblical narratives raises the possibility that at least some of these narratives are purely products of the storyteller's art, which of course raises serious questions about their usefulness for historical reconstruction (1986:60). One can compare in this regard the Greek myth of Baucis and Philemon. The Sodom and Gomorrah story reflects yet another motif pattern known from extrabiblical literature, that of divine beings who visit a city to test the hospitality of its people and eventually destroy the inhospitable city. In their textbook on the history of Israel and Judah, Miller and Hayes state: Two legendary cities from prehistoric Israel in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea.it is highly uncertain, if not improbable, that the vanished cities of the Pentapolis will ever be recovered (1992: 99, 102). In his Anchor Bible Dictionary article on Sodom and Gomorrah, M.J. These allusions, of course, stem from the Biblical account of events that occurred in the days of Abraham in Genesis 19.īut did these places ever exist and will they ever be found? Most scholars think not. An especially wicked place is described as a "Sodom and Gomorrah." Pastors are sometimes said to be preaching "fire and brimstone." And we have the legal term sodomy for unnatural sex acts. The names Sodom and Gomorrah(1) are bywords in our modern society. This article was originally published in summer 1999 issue of Bible and Spade. 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. 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.