Sodom, Biblical ancient city near Dead Sea, Israel.

Sodom is a city named in the Bible but never located by archaeologists. The biblical text places it on the plain near the Dead Sea, in the area of the lower basin, which was drained in antiquity; no ruins have been identified. The photograph shows a rock formation with horizontal bands and white mineral drips, not excavated remains.

The settlement may have existed until around 1700 BCE when sudden destruction ended urban life. Geological traces point to a catastrophic event that wiped out everything within moments.

The name Sodom is linked by scholars to the Arabic root sdm, meaning sadness or exhaustion, and its demonym "sodomite" passed into Western languages. The site has never been located: the lower Dead Sea basin where the Pentapolis is placed was drained in antiquity, which is why no remains have been found.

No ruins of Sodom have ever been located, so there is no excavation to walk through; the identification with the plain near the Dead Sea rests on Genesis and on Strabo's report of thirteen inhabited places there. The site is discussed through the lower, shallow basin of the Dead Sea, which was drained in antiquity and today is nearly gone. Travelers can only survey that landscape, not a dig.

No ruins of Sodom have ever been located, which is why the plain south of the Dead Sea, with its two basins, is the usual candidate: the lower basin was drained in antiquity and is dry today. Strabo reported that locals near Masada told him of thirteen inhabited cities there, with Sodom as their metropolis.