Qumran in Wikipedia
Qumran (Hebrew: חירבת קומראן, Arabic: خربة قمران - Khirbet
Qumran) is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is
located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the
northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli
settlement and kibbutz of Kalia. The Hellenistic period
settlement was constructed during the reign of John
Hyrcanus, 134-104 BCE or somewhat later, and was occupied
most of the time until it was destroyed by the Romans in 68
CE or shortly after. It is best known as the settlement
nearest to the caves in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were
hidden, caves in the sheer desert cliffs and beneath, in the
marl terrace.
Since the discovery from 1947 to 1956 of nearly 900 scrolls
in various conditions, mostly written on parchment, with
others on papyrus, extensive excavations of the settlement
have been undertaken. Cisterns, Jewish ritual baths, and
cemeteries have been found, along with a dining or assembly
room and debris from an upper story alleged by some to have
been a scriptorium as well as pottery kilns and a tower.
Many scholars believe the location to have been home to a
Jewish sect, the Essenes being the preferred choice; others
have proposed non-sectarian interpretations, some of these
starting with the notion that it was a Hasmonean fort which
was later transformed into a villa for a wealthy family or a
production center, perhaps a pottery factory or similar.
A large cemetery was discovered to the east of the site.
While most of the graves contain the remains of males, some
females were also discovered, though some burials may be
from medieval times. Only a small portion of the graves were
excavated, as excavating cemeteries is forbidden under
Jewish law. Over a thousand bodies are buried at Qumran
cemetery.[1] One theory is that bodies were those of
generations of sectarians, while another is that they were
brought to Qumran because burial was easier there than in
rockier surrounding areas.[2]
The scrolls were found in a series of eleven caves around
the settlement, some accessible only through the settlement.
Some scholars have claimed that the caves were the permanent
libraries of the sect, due to the presence of the remains of
a shelving system. Other scholars believe that some caves
also served as domestic shelters for those living in the
area. Many of the texts found in the caves appear to
represent widely accepted Jewish beliefs and practices,
while other texts appear to speak of divergent, unique, or
minority interpretations and practices. Some scholars
believe that some of these texts describe the beliefs of the
inhabitants of Qumran, which, may have been the Essenes, or
the asylum for supporters of the traditional priestly family
of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A
literary epistle published in the 1990s expresses reasons
for creating a community, some of which resemble Sadducean
arguments in the Talmud.[3] Most of the scrolls seem to have
been hidden in the caves during the turmoil of the First
Jewish Revolt, though some of them may have been deposited
earlier.
Discovery and excavation
The site of Khirbet Qumran had been known to European
explorers since the 19th century.[4] The initial attention
of the early explorers was focused on the cemetery,
beginning with de Saulcy in 1851. In fact, the first
excavations at Qumran (prior to the development of modern
methodology) were of burials in the cemetery, conducted by
Henry Poole in 1855 followed by Charles Clermont-Ganneau in
1873.[5] Full-scale work at the site began after Roland de
Vaux and G. Lankester Harding in 1949 excavated what became
known as Cave 1, the first scroll-bearing cave. A cursory
surface survey that year produced nothing of interest,[6]
but continued interest in the scrolls led to a more
substantial analysis of the ruins at Qumran in 1951, an
analysis which yielded traces of pottery closely related to
that found in Cave 1.[7] This discovery led to intensive
excavations at the site over a period of six seasons under
the direction of de Vaux.
Chart of various proposed chronologies of Qumran.[8]
The Iron Age remains at the site, which were modest but
included a lmlk-seal, led de Vaux to identify Qumran as the
City of Salt listed in Josh 15:62. The site, however, may be
identified with Secacah, which is referenced in the same
area as the City of Salt in Josh 15:61. Secacah is mentioned
in the Copper Scroll, and the water works of Secacah that
are described in this source are consistent with those of
Qumran.[9] Following the Iron Age, the excavations revealed
that Qumran was principally in use from the Hasmonean times
until some time after the destruction of the temple by
Titus. De Vaux divided this use into three periods: Period
I, the Hasmonean era, which he further divided in two,
Period Ia, the time of John Hyrcanus, and Period Ib, the
latter Hasmoneans, ending with an earthquake and fire in
31BCE (this was followed by a hiatus in de Vaux's
interpretation of the site); Period II, the Herodian era,
starting in 4BCE on up to the destruction of the site
apparently at the hands of the Romans during the Jewish War;
and Period III, a reoccupation in the ruins. De Vaux's
periodization has been challenged by both Jodi Magness[10]
and Yizhar Hirschfeld.[11]
The site that de Vaux uncovered divides into two main
sections: a main building, a squarish structure of two
stories featuring a central courtyard and a defensive tower
on its north-western corner; and a secondary building to the
west. The excavation revealed a complex water system which
supplied water to several stepped cisterns, some quite
large, located in various parts of the site. Two of these
cisterns were placed within the walls of the main building.
Both the buildings and the water system evince signs of
consistent evolution throughout the life of the settlement
with frequent additions, extensions and improvements. The
water channel was raised in order to carry water to newer
cisterns further away and a dam was placed in the upper
section of Wadi Qumran to secure more water, which was
brought to the site by an aqueduct. Rooms were added, floors
were raised, pottery ovens relocated and locations were
repurposed.
De Vaux found three inkwells at Qumran (Loci 30 (2) and 31)
and over the following years more inkwells have come to
light with a Qumran origin. Jan Gunneweg identified a fourth
(locus 129). S. Steckoll found a fifth (reportedly near the
scriptorium). Magen and Peleg found a sixth inkwell .
Without counting the Ein Feshkha inkwell or others with
debated provenance, that is more inkwells than found at any
other Second Temple Period site, a significant indication of
writing there...
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