A Commentary , by the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy. [43] For the recorded effects of some of these pests in a late antique setting with a bearing on the rise of Islam see D. Ch Stathakopoulos, Famine And Pestilence In The Late Roman And Early Byzantine Empire: A Systematic Survey Of Subsistence Crises And Epidemics , 2004, Birmingham Byzantine And Ottoman Monographs: Volume 9, Ashgate Publishing Ltd: Hampshire. Even in our modern advanced technological era hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on locust control due to the widespread devastation plagues of locusts can cause. How much more so the impact thousands of years ago! For a rigorous scientific study on modern methods of locust control one can consult S. Krall, R. Peveling & D. Ba Diallo ( Eds .), New Strategies In Locust Control , 1997, Birkhuser Verlag: Basel (Switzerland). [72] E. P. Uphill, The Temples Of Per Ramesses , 1984, op. cit. , p. 227. N.B. The comparative calculations made by Uphill were based on the measurements of Pr-Ramesses available to him at the time. As we have observed, modern investigations show the city is now considerably larger than previously imagined. Perhaps due to the uncertainty surrounding the identification and exact measurements, some modern studies still maintain Nineveh and subsequently Babylon were the largest cities in the ancient near east. For example see, C. Gates, Ancient Cities: The Archaeology Of Urban Life In The Ancient Near East And Egypt, Greece, And Rome , 2003, Routledge: Oxford &