News in Brief Archaeology

An exploding meteor may have wiped out ancient Dead Sea communities

Archaeologists at a site in what's now Jordan have found evidence of a cosmic calamity

Dead Sea

ANCIENT WIPEOUT  Preliminary evidence indicates that a low-altitude meteor explosion around 3,700 years ago destroyed cities, villages and farmland north of the Dead Sea (shown in the background above) rendering the region uninhabitable for 600 to 700 years.

Fightbegin/istock.com

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

DENVER — A superheated blast from the skies obliterated cities and farming settlements north of the Dead Sea around 3,700 years ago, preliminary findings suggest.