whole lotta coincidences around 3100bc; i.e. beginng of current age maya calendar is 3113bc, beginning of kali yuga is around this time, krishna is said to have dis-incarnated 3114bc-far out stuff- so much evil and ignorance in this world-21/12/2012....bring it on!!!!!! i'd love to meet other folks

sach, london, uk

Sodom & Gomorrah seem to have been part of an ancient civilization that left such a minimal impact on the overall stream of human history that some historians even doubt that they ever existed. No identifiable ruins have ever been found, no aritifacts of any kind, no literature that can be identified as theirs. I am not a Biblical literalist, but I do hold the Bible to be a generally reliable historical source, so I am inclined to take ther story as evidence thast these citeis did flourish for a time, then a frightful natural disaster destroyed them without a trace.
That a large asteroid hitting the earth might have contributed to this disaster is an intriguing idea; what I find to be a pluasible idea is that it was a volcanic eruption. (Not all volcanic eruptions produce lava.) This eruption produced a pot of sulphur vapor, which would account for the "rain of brimstone" in the OT account. Some of the suphur vapor condensed and fell like rain; some caught fire and burned.

Joh Sturm, Los Angeles, USA/CA

I'd like to know which section of the planisphere this report appears on, since from my study of it no such text appears on this tablet!

Asia Haleem, LONDON,

It's true the surface of the ground is littered with fragments of brimstone in the area speculated to be Sodom & Gomorrah, it's also true noone knows the date Sumerians or Pre-Sumerians began recording in cuneiform on clay tablets, but an Assyrian could read the Akkadian transcriptions of Sumerian at that date.

Harline, Ogden, Utah

I thought the commentary of Mr. Fischer in VA was the most to the point. I HAVE heard, in an Old Testament Archaeology class, that there is evidence of widespread burning at the sites along the end of the Dead Sea that are believed to have been the location of the two infamous cities. But Mr Fischer is right---this would have been around the 2000 BC era. And "possibly" still in Sumerian, although that is not the only option at that point. And yes...tie it to a biblical event, and it certainly WILL get more play!!

Robin Sheffield, Naperville,,

Ur was destroyed about 2000 BC, and Abraham likely departed shortly before that so 3123 BC is far too soon for Sodom and Gomorrah, and written in Sumerian would be unlikely beyond Sumer's destruction.

So a Sumerian saw a shooting star. But that’s not news, so it’s tied to a biblical event – now it’s news!! Just like when Bob ballard wanted to explore Lake Van looking for Noah’s ark.

Now, I have a picture on my web page that very well could be Adam’s altar. See www.historicalgenesis.com That's news!

Dick Fischer, Centreville, Virginia

The TIMES has demeaned itself by publishing this article. What a buch of baloney. Other commentators have done an excellent job of pointing out the schlock science regarding the alleged observation of the asteroid and the yawning gap between its reported size and the consequences of its impact. But the absolute fiction is any connection between the object and Sodom and Gomorrah. There is absolutely no scientific record or evidence that an object falling from space leaves a trail of destruction over thousands of miles before it hits. And even if this was an actual event, Sodom and Gomorrah would have been two insignificant way stations along the way.

Nigel, Annandale, VA

If the primary crash site was in Austria and these guys claim that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed at the same time, then they people in Austria must have been real bad to have copped the primary "hit"! The logic of this is theory makes one realy wonder......as one of the other comments says...did it bounce like the Dam busters bomb!!!

DK, Newcastle, Australia

The Clay Tablet is a copy of a much earlier record.

John Beebe, San Francisco, California, USA

hen are people going to stop trying to make religious stories intended for religious purposes into science and history? The Sodom narritive was meant to conver religious truths not facts of evenys.

Gerard, Stockton, CA

Well, that clears up one mystery of the Bible. Now, what about this water-into-wine thing...

S. Smith, Shreveport,

I'm confused, the clay tablet is from 700bc, and the guy who witness the event and wrote the tablet is from June 29 in the year 3123BC

mrbonaparte, tucson, az

The claimed book is shown as available via Amazon, or at least one with that title so this was NOT an April Fools joke.

BUT: The claimed size of the explosion does NOT make sense based upon the claimed size of the asteroid/meteor.

BUT: The SMALL impact zone at Kofels does NOT make sense based upon both the claimed size of the asteroid/meteor and the amount of destruction left along it's path as it traveled to earth and it's landing in Europe.

Obviously this was NOT a peer reviewed book/article with such basic problem with the science involved.

It should be easy enough for a research team to determine if an impact really occured at Kofels (pictures and radar images from space do a GREAT job at that any more when combined with on the ground testing). The fact that they are NOT included speaks ill of either the depth of the research done or the conclusions reached.

Stephen Swaim, Columbus, USA/Ohio

The theory is intriguing but the date of the event is about 900 years out of sync with many scholars' estimates of when Abraham lived (c. 2200 BC).

John Kennedy , Phila., PA , USA

You 'quote' the energy of impact as equivalent to 1000 tonnes of TNT - sounds rather low given the estimated size of the asteroid..?

Julian Pieniazek, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand

Your headline suggests that the tablet is the asteroid. Shouldn't it read "... identified as account of asteroid ... ?"

Rampas Mornay, West Festus,

wasn't it FIRE and BRIMSTONE. if anyone really wants to know they can google sodom and gomorrah and find the location of where it used to be. within the location are the remains of brimstone, etc. very interesting.
i seriously doubt that God would destroy more people than necessary. so i don't agree with the asteroid theory. but it's fascinating.

skyhart, ATLANTA, USA/ GEORGIA

Considering that so many people differ as to the -'exact '- location of the cities Sodom and Gomorrah..
How do they make the connection to - this - particular location - (based simply on the evidence of an "ancient landslide" at Köfels? ).
Another words - what proof is there - that this landslide at Kofels - is connected to the - 'original' - location of these ancient cities?
No one seems to agree - 'where' - Sodom and Gomorrah were situated.
And one would imagine - that an asteroid of that enormous size - and power - would have left behind a lot more evidence.

R.J. Kingsley, Daytona, Florida

Amazing!
The book itself ( "A Sumerian Observation of the Köfels' Impact Event" by Alan Bond and Mark Hempsell) apparently does indeed exist, as it is listed by Amazon, and was NOT published on April 1st (Fool's Day).
Among the numerous clues offered by this April 1st report:
The disk shown in the photo is clearly more than 6cm.
Sumerian engraved rectangular tablets, not disks.
An Assyrian in 700BC could hardly read Sumerian notes from 3123 BC (when cuneiform may not have yet been invented, BTW).
An asteroid hitting Earth would do it so too fast to permit leisurely observations of a "white stone bowl approaching".
A "half-mile across asteroid" would do much worst damage that a mere 5km landslide in Köfels (dated at about 8700 years ago).
Fragments could not bounce back! It is dynamically impossible.
(Slightly -different versions of this articles in other languages gives further clues that this is April Fool's hoax or joke)

Roberto Molteni, (Fair) Verona & New York, Italy & USA

According to biblical chronology Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed in 2068 BC. But who cares about a 1,055 year discrepancy when a natural explanation for a biblical miracle is being offered? Dr. Hempsall is no friend of the Bible.

Rowland, Bay Area, CA

If I am not wrong, 1,000,000 sq km is roughly the area between Frankfurt, Geneva, Bologna, Vienna, with Köfels at the centre, practically South Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and North Italy. There must be some other evidence of devastation in such a vast area.
Renzo, Hong Kong

Renzo, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

The extension of the area invoided (1 mln sq km) and the energy of the impact (1 kiloton) don't match: the asteroid had to be a much greater energy to create a suceh extensive damage.

Igor, Turin, Italy

I wonder how a couple of engineers could translate a sumerian tablet.
I attended a few classes of Sumerian at university and I can guarantee that is is pretty a hard work!
Maybe the old thery of Aliens invading the Eath is more valuable... :)

Vittorio, Staines, UK

But Köfels is a very very very long way from where Sodom and Gomorra were. Did the thing bounce?

M.R., Stockport,

It's nothing to do with "religious spin" being put onto natural phenomena. It has to do with people explaining extraordinary natural phenomena in terms that were within their understanding at that time.

Giant frogs and locusts are not mentioned because the plagues of Egypt happened nearly 2000 years later.

Martin, Newmarket, Suffolk

Ha, ha, ha, ha. Good joke, just a pity that it came a day too early. Timing is what makes jokes

dominic, Teddington, Middlesex,

I doubt that an asteroid that has ALREADY fallen is likely to fall again, Ian.

Hazel Murdoch, Whitburn, West Lothian

Has this article been published a day early?

Frank Upton, Solihull,

The biblical Liberalist would say,the story fitted the fact. The meteor passed near the earth until it landed .The nearer it came it scorched the earth in its passage.two(Sodom and Gomora) or more villages were on it's path in the middle east (?)and were destroyed by it's wake.at which point the ancients came to the conclusion that something fishy may have gone on in these villages,and believed it was Gods retribution.Primitive thinking perhaps?

james hazan, huddersfield, uk

This is typical of a perfectly natural phenomena being turned into religious spin and then recorded as a fact of God's wrath for Man's libidinousness. And we are still dumb enough to believe the same today.

Robbie Rohan, Great Chart, Kent, UK

A million square kilometres devastated? That would be an area slightly larger than Egypt, according to Wikipedia.
Was there anything about giant frogs or locusts on that tablet? Or has Clarksonian hyperbole afflicted the normally modest prose of academia?

Roy Hinchliff, Peterborough, England

Half a mile across you say? That'd be some blast. It'd not just have taken out Sodom & Gomorrah. Air blast no doubt. That's why the crater isn't visible from space like the one that took out the dinasaurs....I reckon this is what kick started the last age. They should check that landslide for meteorite fragments & look for smaller craters for a few hundred miles in the vicinity. Afterall a airburst of a half mile wide asteroid would have left a few pockmarks on the landscape. PS I was not being facetious merely scientific.

kevin, Lincoln, UK

Simon - You are right: something in this article doesn't make sense.

According to Wikipedia the Tunguska impact knocked over trees in an area of approx 2,150 square kilometres which was equivalent to approx 10 megaton of TNT. This article claims that 1,000,000 square kilometres was "devastated" which equates to 1 kiloton of TNT. That is a 10,000 times smaller explosion making approx 465 times as much damage (if you compare fallen trees to "devastated") - this maths does not add up!

Viking, Leeds, England

Try telling all this to the biblical literalists.

Andy Armitage, Hebron, Whitland, West Wales, UK

"... more than 1,000 tonnes of TNT exploding".

Just how many noughts are missing from this statement?

Simon Kidner, Swanage, UK

Due to fall again soon no doubt..........................?

Ian Payne, WALSALL,