Qumran is the name of a wadi ( Arabic word used to designate a riverbed that is dry except during the rainy season, a common phenomenon in arid lands of the Near East.), Northwest of the Dead Sea and nearby ruins. Eleven caves with important pre-Christian repositories of documentation have been discovered in this region since 1947, illuminating various aspects of biblical studies.
Summary
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- 1 The site
- 1 Phase Ia (130-110 BC)
- 2 Phase Ib (110-31 BC)
- 3 Phase II (4 ane-68 ne)
- 4 Phase III
- 2 Composition of Qumran
- 1 The Scriptorium
- 2 The Dining Room
- 3 Ritual baths
- 4 Qumran Dam
- 5 Cemetery of Qumran
- 3 Buildings dependent on Qumran
- 4 References
The place
Excavations (1951-1956) at Khirbet (an Arabic word meaning ruin or devastated place. Often used in the toponymic names of ruins in the Near East.) Indicates that this group of buildings was the seat of the monastic community that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. The site was occupied during the monarchy of Judah (8th-6th centuries BC) referred to as the City of Salt, when a circular cistern was made. But the most interesting phases of the occupation are those associated with the sect that produced the scrolls, those known as Essenes
Phase Ia (130-110 BC)
Evidence of settlement with the cleaning of the old cistern, and the construction of two new ones, as well as several rooms and a potter’s oven.
Phase Ib (110-31 BC)
Reconstruction of the headquarters with a view to accommodating more members. Coin groups found:
- A first group of 143 coins minted between 103 and 76 BC corresponding to the reign of the Maccabee / Hasmonean Alexander Janeo (103-76 BC)
- A second group of coins that begin to appear timidly in groups of 5-10 coins minted between 67 BC and 4 AD
Earthquake destroyed the buildings, with the possible abandonment of the same by the Essenes.
Phase II (4 ane-68 ne)
Repair of the buildings (assembly room, classroom for copying deeds, kitchen, laundry room, ceramic installation, cereal mills, etc.) and the complicated hydraulic system. Great boom and vitality Groups of coins have been found:
- The second group of coins from 4 ne and especially from 6 ne accumulate 169 coins minted until year 44 ne Coincidentally with a famine that occurred between years 44 and 46 ne
- The third group of 88 coins minted in the years 66 and 67 ne seem to correspond to an important group of zealots during the uprising against Rome that led to the siege and destruction of Jeruzalem.
Destruction of the monastery by Roman soldiers under General Vespasian , the sectarians had hidden their manuscripts in nearby caves.
Phase III
The Romans rebuilt certain rooms and kept a garrison there for some time. Later the insurgents of Bar Kochba , messianic pretender, leader of the revolt of 132-135, left their traces there. A group of 6 coins from the years 132-136 appear. As well as Byzantine monks and Arab shepherds.
Qumran composition
The Scriptorium
Based on inkwells and “desks” found in this room, archaeologists have suggested that the second floor of this building was the place where the scrolls were copied. No scrolls were found in this room or in the ruins on the ground itself. But the same type of unique pottery was found in the caves with the scrolls, helping to link the two.
The dinner room
This large room was used for community dinners. Apparently three rows of tables were in the place where the inhabitants of Qumran ate in silence. In the next room, more than 1000 complete pots were found including 708 glasses, 210 plates, and 108 salad pots. These were all serving utensils since they were never cooked.
Ritual baths
Numerous mikvot (ritual purification baths) were in use here for the community who practiced immersion twice a day. This mikvah attests to the destruction of the site by the earthquake on 31 BC. The crack moved the left side of the mikvah by nearly 12 inches.
Qumran Dam
The Essenes required immense amounts of water for their daily purification rites. They had to channel the water from the wadi during the few winter storms. This dam helped divert water to an aqueduct that led to a site with dozens of cisterns, mikvot, and pools.
Qumran Cemetery
Of 1,200 tombs found in the cemeteries of Qumran, almost 50 have been excavated. The main cemetery has 1,100 graves, the northern 30 and the southern 30. The presence of women’s graves in what is known as a celibate community of men has been a mystery. Lately, Joe Zias determined that the women’s graves were more recent Bedouin burials.
Qumran dependent buildings
Two kilometers south of Khirbet Qumran, is the ruins of what was Ain Fesjah (now Enot Tzukim), an accessory facilities and dependent on the main center, its history parallels that of Qumran. Apparently it was a farm that supplied food.
15 kilometers south of Khirbet Qumran, is the ruins of Enot Qaneh (present Einel Ghuwer), where there are the ruins of a building similar to that of Qumran, apparently related to the Essenes.
