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Shakespeare Club hears Dead Sea history

Linda Dunn

Last month, the Shakespeare Club heard from Linda Dunn regarding the Dead Sea.

Here is a portion of the presentation: In 2017 a NASA satellite discovered that the Dead Sea was no longer the saltiest body of water in the world, but was the instead the third. The Dead Sea, a land locked salt lake, was formed about 3.7 million years ago. It is located at the mouth of the Jordan River and forms part of the border between Israel and Jordan. It is six times as salty as the ocean and lies at the bottom of the deepest break in a geological fault in the earth’s crust that extends all the way to east Africa — 1,286 feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the lowest point on the face of the globe. Today it is a complex story of change and, unfortunately, of rapid decline.

In the Middle Ages Christian pilgrims traveling to the Dead Sea reported that no birds flew over because the air was poisonous. Today we know that birds avoid the sea because it contains no fish, and that little plant life can grow because of the saltiness of the water. Throughout its history there was also very little life in the areas surrounding the Dead Sea. Today it is universally acknowledged that the Dead Sea is a source of both life and health. The potash contained in its bitter waters is an invaluable fertilizer, exported all over the world, while the lake and the springs that feed it have cured everything from arthritis to psoriasis since ancient times. Archeological finds continue to reveal its many resources utilized by past civilizations.

The greatest depth of the Dead Sea today is 1,430 feet below sea level. And that is dropping by 45-48 inches per year. It was about 50 miles long and eleven miles wide. But today it is half the size it was in 1976. The surface today is 234 square miles, having been 410 square miles in 1930. Israel has no gushing rivers. The Jordan River used to flow into the sea from the north through a rapidly descending valley but today Jordan has diverted that flow for human needs. There are several smaller streams, which also emptied into the sea, from Syria and from the Sea of Galilee in Israel. These streams have also been diverted for human needs. The rivers and streams poured six and a half million tons of fresh water into the Dead Sea every day. To actually recover to its former level, it has been suggested that the Dead Sea would need more than a million cubic meters of water a year. The Sea never grows less salty because fresh water is evaporated in the extreme heat in the Dead Sea basin. The water contains about 24% solid matter, most commonly salt and is so thick that a person will float on the surface. It also contains asphalt pebbles, which was harvested by the early Nabateans, who most likely sold it to the Egyptians, who used it in their mummification process. It has been speculated that Cleopatra imported the healing mud from the Dead Sea for her personal use. The Greeks knew the Dead Sea as Lake Asphaltities. The Dead Sea was first mentioned as the Salt Sea in the Bible. In the Book of Genesis a story of the destruction of the cities of sin– Sodom, and Gommorah, is told.

According to the story, Lot, Abraham’s nephew pleaded unsuccessfully with God to spare the cities but was allowed to escape with his family. These two cities were buried in a rain of fire and brimstone and then were covered by the Salt Sea. Lot’s wife was told not to look back as they were leaving, but did so, and according to the story was turned into a pillar of salt. On the shore of the Dead Sea is a cave with a hollow tower visible to all. That salt pillar is called Lot’s Wife. The Arabs call the Dead Sea the Bahr Lut, Sea of Lot.

The Qumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and the fortress of Masada built by King Herod, where the Jewish War against Rome of 66-73 AD played out are just some of the many sites surrounding the Dead Sea bringing the history of early Christianity and the Jewish people to light.

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