The Brimstone that fell on The Cities of the Plain

As I Bible scholar, I continue to look for groundbreaking research on topics that help us understand the Bible better. YouTube is a great resource in this area, and recently I spent a lot of time watching videos about the destruction of the Cities of the Plain (b`iri hakikar). The problem is, no one can agree just what the Plain was, or where the cities were, other than that they were all in the vicinity of the Dead Sea: either to the north, the south, the east, or the west. This website makes a strong case for Tel el Hammam, north of the Sea. Strong, that is, until you actually examine the biblical record. The ONLY correlation between the ruins of this unidentified city and those of the Cities of the Plain, is summed up in the closing paragraph of the website:

That the most productive agricultural land in the region, which had supported flourishing civilizations continuously for at least 3,000 years, should suddenly relinquish, then resist, human habitation for such a long period of time has begged investigation. Research results concerning the "3.7KYrBP Kikkar Event" are presently being compiled for publication and presentation.

There are many things to keep in mind here. Perhaps we could list some of them.
1. The destruction of the Cities (basically Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Zoar) was complete. The word used (mahpekah) refers to utter desolation. The Cities were never conquered by enemies, or even destroyed by natural disasters; their unique obliteration was accomplished directly by the Hand of God: burning sulphur from the sky. The ruins of Tel el Hammam simply don't fit this description.
But other ruins do. Beginning with Ron Hyatt, amateur archaeologists have identified at least four discrete sites along the west shore of the Dead Sea by three or four unique characteristics they all share: the outline of the city is a distinct ashy colour; all that is left are layers of ash, interspersed with carbonized wood and underlaid by layers of calcium sulphate, scattered throughout with colourless balls of sulphur that is purer than any naturally occurring deposits anywhere in the world.

2. The destruction was accomplished by intense heat accompanied by sulphur, which reacted chemically to destroy stone structures, replacing them with layers of sulphate ash. Even crops were wiped out in this way. Sulphur residue rendered the soil toxic to plant life. The area of the Dead Sea is proverbial for nothing being able to grow there. So, not only were the cities destroyed, but the entire area, which had a population density comparable to the Nile Delta, became uninhabitable--as it is to this day; no cities have ever been built there, and the main industry is mining the harsh chemicals that render it so hostile to life.

3. The cities, and their surrounding lush farm and pasture land, were so utterly desolated that no one would ever live in them again. It is no wonder that even now, 4000 years later, one can walk through the region picking up balls of brimstone from off the ground; no one has ever even attempted to mine it, despite its amazing purity. The very desolation that resulted from God's judgement has protected these ruins from exploitation to this very day.