You never know: Did the destruction of this Middle Bronze Age city inspire the story of Sodom? The basic story is that some natural event around 1650 BC may be the origins of the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as recounted in the Old Testament.

Archaeologists investigated the destruction of Tall el-Hammam and discovered an event similar to the description of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Here’s the conclusion, but you should read the story in full since it is such an improbable tale.

The consequences of a crater-forming cosmic impact matched all the evidence found by the archaeologists, but it was dismissed as unlikely because no crater was found in the area.

The most likely cause of destruction was a cosmic airburst caused by a comet or meteorite. The consequences of such an event also match the evidence found by the researchers, and using an impact calculator, they were able to estimate the details of the event, which also involved the shock wave hitting Jericho that was burned to the ground.

Are these things even possible? That it should actually have happened in the midst of an iron age city is incredible and makes you wonder if it could happen again or whether these events happen now but in the middle of nowhere.