re: ridge: snooks - new testament - old test event
you all might find this interesting, in relation to OT events related to geologic events. From http://www1.elsevier.com/homepage/sad/quatper/issues/10_1.htm
I am not familiar with the organisation or journal.
Catastrophic events or relatively rapid climatic and other environmental changes are being recognised and evaluated ever more frequently in the Quaternary and especially Holocene records. Where specific dates of such events are being correlated or evaluated in the light of alleged historical narratives described in the Bible or other scriptures, many intriguing questions arise. It is truly very difficult for geology, archaeology and history to reach a unified conclusion.
A recent example of this is provided by attempts to equate Noah's biblical flood or the Akkadian Gilgamesh version with the real event of breaching the Bosporus and rapidly filling the Black Sea around 7,600 years BP, as interpreted by marine geologists Ryan and Pitman (1998. Noah's Flood. Simon & Schuster, 319pp). Their thorough examination of the evidence leaves open many questions. What kind of human environment did the flooding really destroy? What really documents its effects and consequences? What a challenge for a team of marine geologists, underwater archaeologists, environmental historians and many others!
The geological and environmental events that may have triggered the biblical Exodus of the Hebrew tribes from Egypt have been discussed for a long time. A consensus is emerging that a significant historical Santorini explosion, causing widespread darkness for several days, may have triggered the amazing sequence of events described in the Biblical narrative of the Exodus, up to the destruction and conquest of Jericho. But what about the timing? The traditionally accepted date of the Exodus is during the time of pharaoh Rameses II of the 19th dynasty, around 1250 BC (Before the Common Era). This date has now been challenged by at least two recent publications, pushing it back by almost 400 and 200 years respectively, based on essentially geological evidence. This constitutes quite a revolutionary change, deserving some scrutiny.
Based on the evidence of (a) recently published calibrated C14 dates from the strongest Santorini volcanic eruption 3356 BP, interpreted as triggering darkness and cooling also observed in a number of long-distance tree-rings and ice cores, and (b) new calibrated C14 dates on short-lived cereals from the Jericho excavation, documenting the destruction of the Middle Bronze town of Jericho, some 45 years later, in agreement with the biblically described long wandering of the Hebrew tribes in the Sinai desert and subsequent conquest of Canaan, Bruins and van der Plicht (1996. The Exodus Enigma. Nature 378, p. 213) have suggested 1630 BCE as the Exodus date, which would place it in the 17th dynasty.
At the same time, and so without referring to each other, Le Moreaux and Idris, a hydrogeologist and a water engineer respectively, published a wide-ranging book (1996. The Exodus: Myth, Legend, History. Word Way Press, 262pp), reaching the conclusion that the final cataclysmic Santorini eruption, and the mayhem caused by tsunamis in the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt, resulted in the Hebrew Exodus. It occurred on geological, historical and 'logical' evidence during the reign of pharaoh Tuthmosis III (18th dynasty) 1450 BCE or about 200 years before the traditional date.
Such differences of 200 or almost 400 years is no small matter for mid~Holocene events in this part of our world and a challenge to researchers to solve the puzzle. Why is the destructive 1450 BCE Santorini eruption not evident in tree-ring data and ice cores? Could the destruction of Jericho have been due to earthquake rather than conquest? What other evidence is there for the decades-long interval between the Exodus and the Conquest? An additional complication is that there is, as yet, no Egyptian archaeological or other historical testimony for the Exodus during Rameses II's time (Frerichs and Lesko, eds., 1997. Exodus: The Egyptian Evidence. Eisenbrauns, 112pp). So perhaps the Exodus is a mythical exaggeration or the Egyptian dynasty chronology needs readjustment?
There is a vast literature on the problem of causation surrounding these biblical events, each of which has its strengths and its weaknesses. The geological evidence for the causal relation between the Santorini explosion and the presumed happenings in Egypt seems strong and is supported by many (Friedman, 1992. Geology illuminates biblical events. Geotimes 37:18-20). The problem of chronology is currently wide open. It seems that a more precise dating, as well as improved delimitation of the extent of the events in the eastern Mediterranean is a solvable problem that needs to be addressed. What a challenge for a multidisciplinary INQUA-like team, encompassing several of its Commissions!
