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LiveScience
LiveScience
Christopher R. Moore

(Retracted) Space rock that destroyed ancient city may have inspired biblical story of Sodom

Artist's evidence-based depiction of the blast, which had the power of 1,000 Hiroshimas.
Artist's evidence-based depiction of the blast, which had the power of 1,000 Hiroshimas. (Image credit: Allen West and Jennifer Rice, CC BY-ND)

Editor’s note: This article was based on a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports on Sept. 20, 2021. On April 24, 2025, the journal retracted the article after other researchers raised concerns about errors that undermine the original conclusion that an airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam. Here is the retraction note from the journal editors:

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