W Balk LA.28P 1 : A Thumbnail ‘History’ of Tall el-Hammam/Sodom Dr. Steven Collins Dean, College of Archaeology & Biblical History Trinity Southwest University Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA  2010 Steven Collins, Ph.D.

If you’ll study carefully the following slide sequence, you’ll observe the stratigraphy revealing 2,500 years of continuous occupation at Tall el-Hammam/Sodom.

Chalcolithic house wall (ca BCE) Early Bronze 1 house wall (ca BCE) EB2 fill (ca BCE) SOIL-MIXED-MATRIX more EB2 fill MIXED MATRIX more EB2 fill SAND-ASH more EB2 fill MIXED MATRIX more EB2 fill SANDY LOAM EB2 city wall (ca BCE) EB2 street EB3 city wall refurbishing (ca BCE) used through IB & MB1 EB3 street IB/MB street (down to 1800 BCE) MB2 fill (ca BCE) MUDBRICK more MB2 fill SAND-ASH-PEBBLES more MB2 fill MUDBRICK more MB2 fill HUWAR MATRIX MB2 fill DIRT more MB2 fill SAND-ASH-PEBBLES more MB2 fill ASHY SOIL more MB2 fill SANDY LOAM-ASH more MB2 fill SOIL-MIXED RUBBLE more MB2 fill Middle Bronze 2 city wall glacis/rampart (ca BCE) (eroded away here, but present in the excavation squares to the immediate S) Close examination of this balk (section) reveals that no water-borne or wind-blown sediments contribute to the visible stratigraphy. All of the various materials present in this view were purposefully placed by the city builders for construction purposes. Thus, from the Chalcolithic Period through the Middle Bronze Age, Tall el-Hammam/Sodom enjoyed uninterrupted occupation. That is, of course, until it suffered catastrophic destruction toward the end of the MBA (during the time of Abraham and Lot).

So, what’s in a balk? Quite a lot!