BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Was the Dead Sea Once Completely Dry?

Bible and archaeology news

Researchers studying the history of the Dead Sea have found that around 120,000 years ago, the waters of the mineral-rich and super-buoyant lake may have almost completely dried up. With evidence obtained from sediment cores extracted from more than 1,500 feet beneath the deepest part of the Dead Sea, the researchers identified a layer of small round pebbles sitting on top of a thick salt deposit. The pebbles are very similar to the stones found on the shoreline of the Dead Sea today, suggesting the lake was exceedingly small or perhaps non-existent 120,000 years ago. With modern water levels in the Dead Sea receding at alarming rates, the research shows that the mineral lake may have faced similar water shortages in the past. “It seems as though the lake may have dried out or got very close to drying out without human intervention,” said Emi Ito, one of the project’s lead geochemists. “We may have to revise our thinking that the Dead Sea cannot dry out.”

Researchers studying the history of the Dead Sea have found that around 120,000 years ago, the waters of the mineral-rich and super-buoyant lake may have almost completely dried up.