Date of oldest solar eclipse is identified

 The oldest solar eclipse ever recorded has been pinpointed to a specific date more than 3,000 years ago, helping historians to date the Egyptian pharaohs.

Cambridge University researchers believe that the eclipse occurred on Oct 30 1207BC and is referenced in the Bible. They said the discovery helps explain text in the Old Testament book of Joshua that has puzzled scholars for centuries. The book states that after Joshua led the people of Israel into Canaan, 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.”

Prof Sir Colin Humphreys from the University of Cambridge’s department of materials science and metallurgy, said that if these words were describing a real observation, “a major astronomical event” was taking place.

In order to date the eclipse, the researchers developed an “eclipse code” which examined variations in the Earth’s rotation over time.