Tall el-Hammam


Tell el-Hammam is an archaeological site in Jordan, in the eastern part of the lower Jordan Valley close to the mouth of the Jordan River. The site has substantial remains from the Chalcolithic, Early, Intermediate and Middle Bronze Age, and from Iron Age II. There are different attempts at identifying the site with a biblical city.

Possible identifications in different periods

"Tell", sometimes spelled "tall", is the Arabic word for a mound created by successive layers of settlement debris, a term adopted into English for an archaeological mound. "" is Arabic for watering hole, bath/bathhouse or toilet/restroom.

Archaeological work

Early surveys

A survey was done in 1975–76, which found some Middle Bronze Age pottery.
In 1990, Kay Prag conducted a survey and some soundings.

Excavation since 2005

Since 2005, the site has been excavated by a joint project of the unaccredited Trinity Southwest University, the Creationist accredited Veritas International University's College of Archaeology & Biblical History, and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

Periods of settlement

Until 2016, the excavations have brought to light occupation layers from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, the entire Bronze Age, then again from Iron Age 2, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic periods. However, by far the most substantial findings are from the Early Bronze Age, Intermediate Bronze Age, and Middle Bronze Age.
The site was occupied in the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, Intermediate Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age 2–3 and Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods. Like most sites in the Jordan Valley, it was vacant in the Late Bronze Age. Only some Late Bronze pottery was discovered in a tomb. The "Late Bronze Gap" of c. 550 years is not unique to Tall al-Hammam but characteristic of many of the sites in the Jordan valley region, including Tall Iktanu, Tall Kefrein, Tall Nimrin, Tall el-Musṭāḥ, Tall Bleibel, etc.

Middle Bronze Age city

During the Middle Bronze Age, the city was protected by walls enclosing an area of 85 acres and was divided into an upper and lower city, while the much larger general occupational area around the walled city covered 240 acres.

Disputed identification with Sodom

Starting with the publication of his book Discovering the city of Sodom in 2013, Collins has been arguing that Tall el-Hammam is the site of the biblical city of Sodom.

Inerrantist opposition

According to professor Eugene H. Merrill, himself a Biblical inerrantist, the identification of Tall al-Hammam with Sodom would require an unacceptable restructuring of the biblical chronology.

Credentials

Current excavations are led by archaeologist Steven Collins, a professor at the College of Archaeology at the unaccredited Trinity Southwest University in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an institution that states that biblical scripture is the "divinely inspired representation of reality given by God to humankind, speaking with absolute authority in all matters upon which it touches". Collins is also the Professor of Archaeology and Biblical History along with Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Veritas International University, accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools which requires all accredited schools to have a statement of faith that affirms "the inerrancy and historicity of the Bible" and "the divine work of non-evolutionary creation including persons in God's image".