Modeling how a Powerful Airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, a Middle Bronze Age city near the Dead Sea

A powerful cosmic airburst, occurring approximately 3600 years ago, is confirmed as the likely cause of destruction for Tall el-Hammam, a Middle Bronze Age city near the Dead Sea. This conclusion is supported by extensive evidence including shock-fractured quartz, melted materials, and high-temperature breccia found in the site's terminal destruction layer. Fifteen years of excavations revealed directional scattering of debris, such as potsherds and charred grains, across multi-meter distances, strengthening the interpretation of a high-velocity cosmic event. Advanced analytical techniques, including TEM, SEM, and EBSD, identified glass-filled fractured quartz grains consistent with shock metamorphism. Hydrocode modeling further demonstrated that a Type 2 airburst could produce such destruction, releasing explosive energy capable of propelling fragments at high velocities to strike the Earth's surface, creating superficial craters susceptible to erosion.

Silvia, P. J., Collins, S., LeCompte, M. A., Costa, L., Howard, G. A., Kennett, J. P., Moore, C. R., Kletetschka, G., Adedeji, A. V., Hermes, R. E., Witwer, T., Langworthy, K., Razink, J. J., Brogden, V., van Devener, B., Perez, J. P., Polson, R., Kavková, R., Young, M. D., & West, A. (2024). Modeling how a Powerful Airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, a Middle Bronze Age city near the Dead Sea. Airbursts and Cratering Impacts, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.14293/aci.2024.0005