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posted by Fnord666 on Monday October 30 2017, @08:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the lights-out dept.

Researchers have pinpointed the date of what could be the oldest solar eclipse yet recorded. The event, which occurred on 30 October 1207 BC, is mentioned in the Bible, and could have consequences for the chronology of the ancient world.

Using a combination of the biblical text and an ancient Egyptian text, the researchers were then able to refine the dates of the Egyptian pharaohs, in particular the dates of the reign of Ramesses the Great. The results are published in the Royal Astronomical Society journal Astronomy & Geophysics.

The biblical text in question comes from the Old Testament book of Joshua and has puzzled biblical scholars for centuries. It records that after Joshua led the people of Israel into Canaan -- a region of the ancient Near East that covered modern-day Israel and Palestine -- he prayed: "Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon. And the Sun stood still, and the Moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies."

"If these words are describing a real observation, then a major astronomical event was taking place -- the question for us to figure out is what the text actually means," said paper co-author Professor Sir Colin Humphreys from the University of Cambridge's Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, who is also interested in relating scientific knowledge to the Bible.

Colin Humphreys and Graeme Waddington. 'Solar eclipse of 1207 BC helps to date pharaohs.' Astronomy & Geophysics (2017). DOI: 10.1093/astrogeo/atx178.


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  • (Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 30 2017, @11:24PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 30 2017, @11:24PM (#589755)

    There are lots of books at your disposal. Now, fuck off, you ignorant fool

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 30 2017, @11:27PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 30 2017, @11:27PM (#589756)

    Me likey the holey bibble

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Tuesday October 31 2017, @12:05AM (1 child)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday October 31 2017, @12:05AM (#589773) Journal
    You do realize that name-calling isn't an answer, right? If you can't present actual evidence or a coherent description, then you don't have a science-based argument. At that point, I might as well be listening to monkeys.

    Here, it's vague talk of some ancient globe-spanning culture with absolutely no evidence to back it up - not a location, not a people, not a necessary technology, and not a time. Then there's vague talk of global flooding because there are these myths. While there are supposed to be some modest excitement along these lines (like the emptying of huge glacial lakes that might cause at most a 10 foot rise in sea level over a number of days), it's simply more likely that everyone has over the top flood stories because everyone experiences floods and likes to tell over the top stories.

    Reading "books" isn't going to help when the evidence just isn't there to start with.
    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 31 2017, @01:05AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 31 2017, @01:05AM (#589805)

      Just sayin'.