Amazing Facts About Dead Sea History
From being touted as the world’s first health spa endorsed by King Herod to the hottest destination for celebrities and tourists seeking nirvana in the form of health benefits and beauty, a lot of water has surely flowed down to the Dead Sea. You must have read several articles extolling the virtues of Dead Sea minerals, Dead Sea mud, and Dead Sea salt. Let us look at some interesting facts about why the Dead Sea continues to grab headlines.
⮚ Bedouin shepherds found the Dead Sea Scrolls hidden in 11 caves in Qumran in 1947. The origin of these ancient manuscripts dates back 250 BC to 68 AD; it contains some of the oldest copies of the Hebrew Bible. Among these manuscripts, the War Scroll (also known as the Qumran War Scroll) garnered a lot of interest; it is one of seven ancient Jewish manuscripts containing detailed descriptions about a prophesied war between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness, military strategy and organization, inscriptions on trumpets, equipment and banners, and military maneuvers used by the warring factions.
⮚ The Greeks referred to the Dead Sea as Lake Asphaltites as it spits out small pebbles and blocks of asphalt or bitumen almost constantly. The asphalt bubbles up from deep seeps at the bottom of the lake and rises to the surface of the water. Ancient Egyptians imported asphalt from the Dead Sea and used it for mummification processes. The asphalt from the Dead Sea also served as an important item of trade in antiquity.
⮚ Your dream of turning the pages of a glossy or listening to your favorite chart buster while floating on water can turn into reality at the Dead Sea. You can rest and float in the waters of the Dead Sea as the high concentration of the mineral salts dissolved in the water makes the lake denser than freshwater lakes, giving an eerie buoyancy to your body. The high salinity of the water makes it impossible for anyone to swim or dive the way they would in any other water body.
⮚ There is a much lower risk of sunburn at the Dead Sea for those who prefer to soak in the sun and get a sun-kissed look. As the Dead Sea is located below sea level, the harmful UV rays of the sun are filtered not only through the ozone layer, but also an additional evaporation layer above the Dead Sea.