“Biblical Mysteries: Sodom and Gomorrah”

NBCi presents

March 07, 2001

Biblical scholar Mike Sanders, know as a modern-day Indiana Jones, chats about his television special, “Biblical Mysteries: Sodom and Gomorrah,” a documentary about the discoveries he made at the bottom of the Dead Sea.

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NBCi: Welcome to a very special evening as we are joined by Mike Sanders, Biblical scholar and modern-day 'Indiana Jones.' Sanders' unprecedented exploration to the depths of the salty Dead Sea is featured in NBC's "Biblical Mysteries- Sodom and Gomorrah." Welcome Mike! It's great to have you here, and we have lots of questions about your expedition and your upcoming special.

Mike Sanders: Okay! Let's see what people want to say!

Adam: How did you get interested in Bible mysteries?

Mike Sanders: That's a very good question. From an early age, I was always interested in the origin and nature of man. In other words, why are we here, and what are we doing here. And when asking that question, one starts following the clues, and follows the ancient religions and texts from India, Asia, and China And one eventually arrives at the Biblical text, and one follows the clues. So that's where we are. I never set out to find the Ark of the Covenant, or Sodom and Gomorrah. I followed the clues to their logical conclusion, whatever the facts show. I'm interested in searching for the truth, and only the truth.

Ocean Serenity: What made you want to even look for the "Sin City"?

Mike Sanders: We had presented to us by our satellite expert an image of the Dead Sea, which showed very peculiar anomalies, at the bottom of the Dead Sea. I had written earlier an archaeological piece trying to explain why the three largest cemeteries are found at the southeast corner of the Dead Sea, in an area which couldn't sustain a goat-herder and his flock! In those cemeteries, there's probably 1.5 million skeletons. So I had written a piece, trying to explain how those skeletons got there, and then was presented with the satellite image, and the clues suggested there was something peculiar at the bottom of the Dead Sea. So I took a submarine and went. There was a map published in 1550, which shows the cities of the plain at the bottom of the Dead Sea, and one is in the exact position where we found the structures by submarine. But I can't talk any more about that--you'll have to watch NBC at 7 PM Eastern, 6 PM Central on Sunday night!

Scuba Gal: How deep did you go?

Mike Sanders: The deepest we could go was 700 feet. The submarine couldn't go any deeper. Normally a submarine can go to 1200' below, but the pressure in the Dead Sea is above average. The structure we found was at 250' below. But we did go as low as 700' below.

Pengy: Is the Dead sea really dead? Did you see any signs of life at all?

Mike Sanders: The Dead Sea is absolutely dead. In the special, you'll see that nothing lives there. There's no oxygen there. The metal pylons are absolutely pristine, with no rust. With no oxygen, rust doesn't form. There are perhaps bacteria at the bottom of the Dead Sea. We saw red colorations on top of the mounds. Not on the side, and not between, but in the area where we believe we discovered a city, we saw the colorations. Some scientists said it might be bacteria. It might possibly be that, but nothing else; everything else dies.

Melanie McK: Did Sodom and Gomorrah actually exist?

Mike Sanders: That is a very good question. None of the sites we went to had a sign which said "Sodom" and "Gomorrah." But it's always a Biblical account which explains what we saw. For instance, scientists said there was never a fertile plain anywhere near the Dead Sea. But there must have been a fertile area there! So it looks as though when you compare what the scientists have said, and what the Bible has said, that the Bible is a more accurate reflection of the evidence. When we brought back samples of things taken from the site, everyone agreed that they existed, but no explanation as to how they were formed. These ancient people were never known to cremate. We have a structure underneath the Dead Sea, and the scientists say all of that is impossible. But there are no signs which say "50 km to Sodom," etc. So we don't know for sure that it's Sodom or Gomorrah. But it looks as though the Biblical account is much more accurate than the scientific account.

Rangy Tang: Were you ever in any physical danger during your expedition? To the Dead Sea?

Mike Sanders: I was in more danger when we went looking for the Ark! The submarine we took to the Dead Sea, the Delta, had done 5000 dives prior. There was one day when a storm came up, and the barge was being blown toward a mine field, and the barge could only go 5 km per hour. The storm was blowing 6-7 km per hour in the opposite direction. If the winds hadn't subsided, we would have gone into the mine field between Jordan and Israel. So that was pretty scary. I also broke a rib on the same occasion, when they had to get us off the barge, and we were on a small boat and we had to clamber off the boat and onto a larger one. The small boat banged into the hull of the larger boat. The people involved with the making of the show have referred to me as "Indiana Jones," but the real one is better looking than I am as well.

TV Addict: You had a special searching for the lost Ark of the Covenant last Sunday, and this Sunday you'll be searching for the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Is there any chance these "Biblical Mysteries" specials will become a regular series?

Mike Sanders: If we get good ratings, and NBC is interested only in ratings, and lots of people tune in Sunday at 7 PM, NBC would love to run a show weekly showing such specials as ours. And the key to it is just the number of people who turn on. The job of network television is to get as many viewers as they possibly can.

Ark Raider: Who first called you an 'Indiana Jones'? Do you think the name is appropriate for you?

Mike Sanders: The Sunday Times of London did. And I know it's not appropriate for me! But it's now being picked up by every newscaster, every radio station, television station. So we can't blame the British too much. I did a syndicated radio program on Saturday with 14,000 outlets, and each one asked the same question.

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