At the TeHEP [the Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project] newsletter of June 2021 we have some welcome news of what is going on as far as the upcoming paper is concerned. Good news in fact. On top of that some of the C14 dates are said to have come up with a few surprises – especially when it comes to the Iron Age. This may of course be down to calibration – which produced the Hollstein plateau. We shall see.
The long awaited scientific research study on the proposed meteor explosion above the Kikkar [the round plain at the head of the Dead Sea] that coincided with the end of MBIIB [in old money], is now awaiting peer review. It destroyed not just Tall el-Hammam but most sites then occupying the Kikkar – with repercussions elsewhere in the Levant. Remember, SIS has published a couple of articles by one of the excavators, Phil Silvia. These articles received little in the way of comment by revisionists of the Velikovsky school – which was disappointing as this is real actual archaeology rather than armchair theorising. Revisionists will have to face up to facts eventually and incorporate these findings into their various models of chronology. There is no point in force fitting facts into a preconceived framework. The facts have to be allowed to make their own changes, uninhibited by paradigms or models. Was this the 'blast from God' that caused the Hyksos to migrate south into Egypt?
Some 21 authors have contributed to the final product – from various fields of science [not just archaeology]. When this hits the mainstream media it will cause a lot of hubris and denial – but in the end, acceptance. The idea of bringing the Bible to life is anathema to academia in the West, but in spite of protestations to the contrary, that is what it will do – and create a ripple effect that will resonate with many people. It is the most important piece of archaeology for yonks – and zonks. Mainstream won't like it so one hopes it passes muster and peer review does not seek to suppress it. It is easy to forget how long it has taken to get to this point. The ongoing research for the meteor explanation has been going on for six years – and that is on top of the earlier research by Collins and Silvia et al. The telling point is that evidence has been amassed not just from Hammam and other sites in the Kikkar but from across the Jordan, in Jericho etc. We have to congratulate the authorities in the modern state of Jordan for allowing the dig and producing the support that enabled the study to see the light of day. Well done all concerned – including the annual bevy of volunteers.