Steven Collins, the Tall el-Hammam site is a strong candidate for the biblical city of Sodom due to a multitude of factors.
However, other scholars — particularly Christian bible authorities — have disputed identifying Tall el-Hammam and its destruction as the site and inspiration for the story of Sodom, citing both its location and dating as problematic in fitting into the biblical narrative.“In my opinion, this is an example of evidence being marshaled to support the identification of the site as Sodom, as opposed to letting the site speak for itself,” archaeologist Robert Mullins, Chair of the Department of Biblical Studies at Azusa Pacific University, told Christianity Today after the study was published.The conclusions on the meteor airburst were reached by a team of 21 scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, New Mexico Tech, Northern Arizona University, NC State University, Elizabeth City (NC) State University, University of South Carolina, East Carolina University, DePaul University, Trinity Southwest University, University of Oregon, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Charles University in Prague, the Comet Research Group, the US Navy, and Los Alamos National Laboratories, who examined samples from 15 seasons of Tall el-Hammam excavations.