Volcanic eruptions could also explain the several days of darkness - which means nine plagues are accounted for. The humidity from the rain and the subsequent hail would have created optimal conditions for locusts to thrive. The grass would have been contaminated, poisoning the animals that ate it. Then, the volcanic ash in the atmosphere would have affected the weather, with acid rain landing on people’s skin, which in turn caused boils. Insects would have burrowed eggs in the bodies of dead animals and human survivors, which generated larvae and then adult insects. The accumulated acidity in the water would have caused frogs to leap out and search for clean water.
Winds would have carried the volcanic ash to Egypt at some point over the summer, and the toxic acids in the volcanic ash would have included the mineral cinnabar, which could have been capable of turning a river a blood-like red color, Trevisanato holds. Microbiologist Siro Trevisanato, author of The Plagues of Egypt: Archaeology, History and Science Look at the Bible, argues that ancient Egyptian medical texts support this idea. This theory argues that the plagues were really the fallout of volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini in the south of Greece around 1620-1600 BCE. Here are three of the major theories to know. The ten plagues are no exception, and over the years scientists have been curious about whether the story of the plagues may have been based on some event that can be proved to have happened. The question of whether Bible stories can be linked to archaeological discoveries is one that has long fascinated scholars.