THE DEAD SEA

A 10,000-Year History

Written by: Nir Arielli Published by: Yale University Press Price: £25

The Dead Sea, an inland salt lake between Israel and Jordan, is a geographical and geological phenomenon, but has also played its part in some of the key stories of the Bible.

In this new hardback, the author, a professor of international history at the University of Leeds, seeks to trace the history of the lake from its its earliest days through to the 21st century.

He explores how the lake is not only of religious importance, but also has economic, military and scientific standing and has at different times been both a source of wealth and a site of war.

A significant section of the book is devoted to the importance of the Dead Sea, not only to Christianity but to other traditions and the author meticulously shows how the Sea played its part in Scripture and explores the belief that Sodom and Gomorrah (destroyed by God in the Old Testament) had sat on the shores of the Sea.

The chapter also explores the unexpected discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940s and both interpretation and the history of discovery surrounding them.

The book, a lively retelling of the history of the area, using meticulous and detailed research to weave together a seamless tapestry of time has many different audiences. For it not only explores the religious importance of the site, but also considers both its geography and geology.

The author also explores who the lake is an area both of outstanding beauty but also ecological significance, with a need to preserve its unique character amid environmental fears. The book’s final chapter, entitled ‘A Site of Ruin, Beauty, Health and Hope’ reveals that the Dead Sea is dropping at the rate of approximately a metre a year and is now 40 metres lower than it was in the 1970s.

Sizeable mineral extraction on both sides of the lake is highlighted coupled with a diminishing flow of water and the emphasis of the book is for the need for collaboration to preserve this unique region, which offers health benefits and had, prior to October 2023, been a popular tourist attraction.

Indeed the renewed conflict forced a change of ending from one of optimism ‘emphasising the beauty of the Dead Sea area and discussing plans to save it’ to one which noted the impact of the most recent conflict on the region.

The author’s concluding words show that this is a mere snapshot of the story of the lake: ‘This where the story of the Dead Sea currently stands. Tough a small lake, its significance resonates in many different cultures beyond the region itself. I hope that readers have come to appreciate how import the lake has been historically and that they will be mobilised to care about its continued survival. For its future to be brighter than the present, a change in direction is needed, and such a change requires international co-operation and peace. The Dead Sea won’t be saved without them.’