Notice removed Reward existing answer by The Square-Cube Law

occurred Apr 11, 2018 at 12:34

Bounty Ended with Dan's answer chosen by The Square-Cube Law

occurred Apr 11, 2018 at 12:34

Notice added Reward existing answer by The Square-Cube Law

occurred Apr 9, 2018 at 20:08

Bounty Started worth 200 reputation by The Square-Cube Law

occurred Apr 9, 2018 at 20:08

Match title with question body

Link

edit approved Apr 8, 2018 at 0:56

CJ Dennis

955
2
5
12

How to completely burn downdestroy a city, without leaving clues for humanity 4,000 years later?

Question Protected by James

occurred Apr 6, 2018 at 15:20

Mod Moved Comments To Chat

occurred Apr 6, 2018 at 15:20

added 21 characters in body

Source Link

edited Apr 5, 2018 at 7:20

Rolf ツ

1.2k
1
10
14

Background

I want to burn down a city completely. Nothing must remain, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Even though I'm a supernatural being, I want this to happen in a natural way. I also want the destruction to not leave any traces that can be used by humanity 4,000 years later to identify what exactly happened. The event may however leave traces that make them guess what happened, but it should definitely not lead to the exact cause.

Details

Burn down a city completely (read: destroy, I like fire however).
The city is situated above sea level in a semi-arid climate.
The event may not leave any clues. This means that humanity 4,000 years later cannot exactly identify what happend. The destruction may however leave traces that make people wonder about what exactly happened. The main point is that the city itself should become a legend, meaning that the destruction site should not leave any traces that can prove the existence of the destroyed city. It's however fine if people get to know that some sort of nature disaster happened, but preferably they won't exactly know what type of nature disaster.
Time of the event: 2,000 B.C. (approximately).
Preferably the destruction happens within 24 hours.
Preferably the destruction method can take down a city that is built mainly with rock and clay like substances.

What are my options? Any natural disaster that can be of use? Is this even possible in a natural way? Please be creative.

I was thinking about "fire from above", but a meteorite impact would be visible for more than 4,000 years.

Edit 1: I removed the following requirement, to make more answers possible:

The area is not volcanic active or seismographic active.

Edit 2: The amount of answers and comments is overwhelming, thanks! I have rewritten the requirements/details to make things a little bit more clear. I also added the word "preferably" to two of them, meaning slightly more answers should be possible. Just keep in mind "preferably"...

Also note that this question was first talking about two cities. I changed this to one city because: if it works for one city it will probably work for any amount of cities.

Background

I want to burn down a city completely. Nothing must remain, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Even though I'm a supernatural being, I want this to happen in a natural way. I also want the destruction to not leave any traces that can be used by humanity 4,000 years later to identify what exactly happened. The event may however leave traces that make them guess what happened, but it should definitely not lead to the exact cause.

Details

Burn down a city completely (read: destroy).
The city is situated above sea level in a semi-arid climate.
The event may not leave any clues. This means that humanity 4,000 years later cannot exactly identify what happend. The destruction may however leave traces that make people wonder about what exactly happened. The main point is that the city itself should become a legend, meaning that the destruction site should not leave any traces that can prove the existence of the destroyed city. It's however fine if people get to know that some sort of nature disaster happened, but preferably they won't exactly know what type of nature disaster.
Time of the event: 2,000 B.C. (approximately).
Preferably the destruction happens within 24 hours.
Preferably the destruction method can take down a city that is built mainly with rock and clay like substances.

What are my options? Any natural disaster that can be of use? Is this even possible in a natural way? Please be creative.

I was thinking about "fire from above", but a meteorite impact would be visible for more than 4,000 years.

Edit 1: I removed the following requirement, to make more answers possible:

The area is not volcanic active or seismographic active.

Edit 2: The amount of answers and comments is overwhelming, thanks! I have rewritten the requirements/details to make things a little bit more clear. I also added the word "preferably" to two of them, meaning slightly more answers should be possible. Just keep in mind "preferably"...

Also note that this question was first talking about two cities. I changed this to one city because: if it works for one city it will probably work for any amount of cities.

Background

I want to burn down a city completely. Nothing must remain, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Even though I'm a supernatural being, I want this to happen in a natural way. I also want the destruction to not leave any traces that can be used by humanity 4,000 years later to identify what exactly happened. The event may however leave traces that make them guess what happened, but it should definitely not lead to the exact cause.

Details

Burn down a city completely (read: destroy, I like fire however).
The city is situated above sea level in a semi-arid climate.
The event may not leave any clues. This means that humanity 4,000 years later cannot exactly identify what happend. The destruction may however leave traces that make people wonder about what exactly happened. The main point is that the city itself should become a legend, meaning that the destruction site should not leave any traces that can prove the existence of the destroyed city. It's however fine if people get to know that some sort of nature disaster happened, but preferably they won't exactly know what type of nature disaster.
Time of the event: 2,000 B.C. (approximately).
Preferably the destruction happens within 24 hours.
Preferably the destruction method can take down a city that is built mainly with rock and clay like substances.

What are my options? Any natural disaster that can be of use? Is this even possible in a natural way? Please be creative.

I was thinking about "fire from above", but a meteorite impact would be visible for more than 4,000 years.

Edit 1: I removed the following requirement, to make more answers possible:

The area is not volcanic active or seismographic active.

Edit 2: The amount of answers and comments is overwhelming, thanks! I have rewritten the requirements/details to make things a little bit more clear. I also added the word "preferably" to two of them, meaning slightly more answers should be possible. Just keep in mind "preferably"...

Also note that this question was first talking about two cities. I changed this to one city because: if it works for one city it will probably work for any amount of cities.

Clarifications.

Source Link

edited Apr 5, 2018 at 6:59

Rolf ツ

1.2k
1
10
14

Background

I want to burn down a city completely. Nothing must remain, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Even though I'm a supernatural being, I want this to happen in a natural way. I also want the destruction to not leave any traces that can be used by humanity 4,000 years later to identify what exactly happened. The event may however leave traces that make them guess what happened, but it should definitely not lead to the exact cause.

Details

Burn down a city completely, preferably within 24 hours.
Burn down a city completely (read: destroy).
The city is built mainly with rock and clay.
The city is situated above sea level in a semi-arid climate.
The city is situated above sea level in a semi-arid climate.
The event may not leave any clues. This means that humanity 4,000 years later cannot exactly identify what happend. The destruction may however leave traces that make people wonder about what exactly happened. The main point is that the city itself should become a legend, meaning that the destruction site should not leave any traces that can prove the existence of the destroyed city. It's however fine if people get to know that some sort of nature disaster happened, but preferably they won't exactly know what type of nature disaster.
The event may not leave any clues, that humanity 4,000 years later, can use to identify exactly what happened. Clues that make them wonder are fine however.
Time of the event: 2,000 B.C. (approximately).
Time of the event: 2,000 B.C. (approximately).
Preferably the destruction happens within 24 hours.

Preferably the destruction method can take down a city that is built mainly with rock and clay like substances.

What are my options? Any natural disaster that can be of use? Is this even possible in a natural way? Please be creative.

I was thinking about "fire from above", but a meteorite impact would be visible for more than 4,000 years.

Edit: I removed the following requirement, to make more answers possible:

The area is not volcanic active or seismographic active.

Edit 1: I removed the following requirement, to make more answers possible:

The area is not volcanic active or seismographic active.

Edit 2: The amount of answers and comments is overwhelming, thanks! I have rewritten the requirements/details to make things a little bit more clear. I also added the word "preferably" to two of them, meaning slightly more answers should be possible. Just keep in mind "preferably"...

Also note that this question was first talking about two cities. I changed this to one city because: if it works for one city it will probably work for any amount of cities.

Background

I want to burn down a city completely. Nothing must remain, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Even though I'm a supernatural being, I want this to happen in a natural way. I also want the destruction to not leave any traces that can be used by humanity 4,000 years later to identify what exactly happened. The event may however leave traces that make them guess what happened, but it should definitely not lead to the exact cause.

Details

Burn down a city completely, preferably within 24 hours.
The city is built mainly with rock and clay.
The city is situated above sea level in a semi-arid climate.
The event may not leave any clues, that humanity 4,000 years later, can use to identify exactly what happened. Clues that make them wonder are fine however.
Time of the event: 2,000 B.C. (approximately).

What are my options? Any natural disaster that can be of use? Is this even possible in a natural way? Please be creative.

I was thinking about "fire from above", but a meteorite impact would be visible for more than 4,000 years.

Edit: I removed the following requirement, to make more answers possible:

The area is not volcanic active or seismographic active.

Background

I want to burn down a city completely. Nothing must remain, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Even though I'm a supernatural being, I want this to happen in a natural way. I also want the destruction to not leave any traces that can be used by humanity 4,000 years later to identify what exactly happened. The event may however leave traces that make them guess what happened, but it should definitely not lead to the exact cause.

Details

Burn down a city completely (read: destroy).
The city is situated above sea level in a semi-arid climate.
The event may not leave any clues. This means that humanity 4,000 years later cannot exactly identify what happend. The destruction may however leave traces that make people wonder about what exactly happened. The main point is that the city itself should become a legend, meaning that the destruction site should not leave any traces that can prove the existence of the destroyed city. It's however fine if people get to know that some sort of nature disaster happened, but preferably they won't exactly know what type of nature disaster.
Time of the event: 2,000 B.C. (approximately).
Preferably the destruction happens within 24 hours.

Preferably the destruction method can take down a city that is built mainly with rock and clay like substances.

What are my options? Any natural disaster that can be of use? Is this even possible in a natural way? Please be creative.

I was thinking about "fire from above", but a meteorite impact would be visible for more than 4,000 years.

Edit 1: I removed the following requirement, to make more answers possible:

The area is not volcanic active or seismographic active.

Edit 2: The amount of answers and comments is overwhelming, thanks! I have rewritten the requirements/details to make things a little bit more clear. I also added the word "preferably" to two of them, meaning slightly more answers should be possible. Just keep in mind "preferably"...

Also note that this question was first talking about two cities. I changed this to one city because: if it works for one city it will probably work for any amount of cities.