The destruction layer at Tell el-Hammam is a remarkable 1 to 2 meters thick across the entire site, containing a mixed matrix of brick, burnt wood, plaster, pottery fragments, human bones, and general debris — all from a single catastrophic event. No intact pottery was found in place on floors, yet the flat platform created by wall shearing preserved everything in position afterward. This stratum contains over 20 classic bolide airburst microproxies that have only been found in this specific layer, providing unique forensic evidence of the destruction mechanism.
Unique meter-thick single-event destruction matrix
JordanExcavationNew Research
Site mentioned
Key facts
- The destruction layer is 1 to 2 meters thick across the site
- Contains mixed matrix of brick, burnt wood, plaster, pottery, human bones, and debris
- No intact or broken pottery found in place on floors
- Thousands of fragments from different vessels strewn in southwest-to-northeast pattern
- Post-event disintegration is virtually absent due to flat platform created by shearing
- Contains 20+ classic bolide airburst microproxies found only in this stratum
Sources
A Tunguska Sized Airburst Destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle ...scienceopen.com
Excavations reveal that more than 12 m of a palace complex and a massive mudbrick rampart were leveled, and widespread fatalities occurred, with all skeletal ...
Tell el-Hammam - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Tell el-Hammam (also Tall al-Hammam) is an archaeological site in the Amman Governorate of Jordan, in the eastern part of the lower Jordan Valley
Evidence that a cosmic impact destroyed ancient city in the Jordan ...phys.org
A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea.
A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle ...laro.lanl.gov
... destruction layer contains peak concentrations of shocked quartz (~ 5–10 GPa); melted pottery and mudbricks; diamond-like carbon; soot; Fe ...
Modeling how a Powerful Airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, a ...researchnow.flinders.edu.au
The evidence supporting this hypothesis includes a widespread charcoal-and-ash-rich terminal destruction layer containing shock-fractured ...
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