Qumran (; ; ) is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjacent to the modern Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalya.
The Hellenistic period settlement was constructed during the reign of Hasmonean leader John Hyrcanus () or somewhat later. Qumran was inhabited by a Jewish sect of the late Second Temple period, which most scholars identify with the Essenes; however, other Jewish groups were also suggested. It was occupied most of the time until and was destroyed by the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War, possibly as late as 73 CE. It was later used by Jewish rebels during the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Today, the Qumran site is best known as the settlement nearest to the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden, caves in the sheer desert cliffs and beneath, in the marl terrace. The principal excavations at Qumran were conducted by Roland de Vaux in the 1950s, and several later digs have been carried out.
Since the 1967 Six-Day War, Qumran has been managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
History
Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947–1956, extensive excavations have taken place in Qumran. Nearly 900 scrolls were discovered. Most were written on parchment and some on papyrus. 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 was home to a Jewish sect, probably the Essenes. But, according to Lawrence Schiffman, the rules of the community, its heavy stress on priesthood and the Zadokite legacy, and other details indicate a Sadducean-oriented sect either distinct from or one of the various Essene groupings.Schiffman, 1983, 1989, and, summarizing his current views, Others propose non-sectarian interpretations, some of these starting with the notion that it was a Hasmonean fort that was later transformed into a villa for a wealthy family, or a production center, perhaps a pottery factory or something similar.
Qumran cemeteries
A large cemetery was discovered to the east of the site. Besides this primary cemetery, there are also three separate extensions of it, as well as the north cemetery (about 10 minutes away from the primary) and a cemetery south of Wadi Qumran.Schultz, Brian, "The Qumran Cemetery: 150 Years of Research" Dead Sea Discoveries 13/2 (2006) 194–228.
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.de Vaux 1973, p. 45f, states that there were 1100 tombs in the main cemetery. However, Kapera 2000, p. 46, argues for only 669 tombs. But an on-site survey came closer to de Vaux's number, Eshel, Hanan, Magen Broshi, Richard Freund, and Brian Schultz. "New Data on the Cemetery East of Khirbet Qumran". DSD 9/2 (2002) 135–165. 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.
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, who may have been 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.Joseph M. Baumgarten, "The 'Halakha' in Miqsat Ma`ase ha-Torah (MMT)." JAOS 116/3 (1996) 512–516 cautioned against premature suggestions of few Sadducee agreements as if pointing to identity. Schofield, Alison, and James C. VanderKam. "Were the Hasmoneans Zadokites?" JBL 124/1 (2005) 73–87 show that matters of "Zadokite" identity are not simple. Also, "Sadducees" in Second Temple Period are not fully identical with Talmudic use of the term. In some scrolls "sons of Zadok" are members of the sect, but not a name for the whole sect. Most of the scrolls seem to have been hidden in the caves during the turmoil of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), although some of them may have been deposited earlier.
Discovery and excavation
Early site analysis The site of Khirbet Qumran had been known to European explorers since the 19th century.J. E. Taylor, "Khirbet Qumran in the Nineteenth Century and the Name of the Site." pp. 144–164. Cansdale 2000, especially p. 633 regarding F. de Saulcy. 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.B. Schultz, "The Qumran Cemetery: 150 Years of Research." pp. 194–196.
Albert Isaacs, British counsel James Finn, and photographer James Graham visited Qumran in December 1856.Isaacs, Rev. Albert Augustus, M.A. The Dead Sea: or, Notes and Observations Made During a Journey to Palestine in 1856–7, London: Hatchard and Son, Piccadilly, 1857. Isaacs stated regarding Qumran's tower, "It can hardly be doubted that this formed a tower or stronghold of some kind. The situation is commanding, and well adapted for defensive operations."See p. 66 in Isaacs, A., The Dead Sea: or, Notes and Observations Made During a Journey to Palestine in 1856–7, (London: Hatchard and Son, 1857). Finn later suggested Qumran was "some ancient fort with a cistern".See p. 416 in Finn, J., Byeways in Palestine (London: James Nisbet, 1868).
The British scholar Ernest William Gurney Masterman visited Qumran on several occasions between 1900 and 1901. After observing the positioning of Qumran atop a plateau overlooking the ‘Ein Feshkha Springs, he concluded the ruins "may have very well been once a small fortress".See p. 161 in Masterman, E. W. G. "‘Ain el-Feshkhah, el-Hajar, el-Asbah, and Khurbet Kumrân", PEFQS 27 (1902): 160–167, 297–299. Masterman also questioned why a small fort would require a graveyard of over one thousand tombs.See p. 162 in Masterman, E. W. G. "‘Ain el-Feshkhah, el-Hajar, el-Asbah, and Khurbet Kumrân", PEFQS 27 (1902): 160–167, 297–299.
Gustaf Dalman visited Qumran in 1914, and explicitly identified Qumran as a burg, or fort.Dalman, G. Palästinajahrbuch des Deutschen evangelischen Instituts für Altertumswissenschaft des heiligen Landes zu Jerusalem. (Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler, 1914), 9–11. Archaeologist Michael Avi-Yonah agreed with Dalman's identification of Qumran as a fort and published a map that identified the remains at Qumran as part of a string of fortresses along the southeastern Judean border.See p. 164 in Avi-Yonah, M. "Map of Roman Palestine", Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine 5 (1936): 139–196.
Major excavations The discovery of the first Dead Sea scrolls was made by bedouins of the Ta'amireh tribe. Full-scale work at the site began after Roland de Vaux and Gerald 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,Trever 1965, p. 147. but continued interest in the scrolls led to a more substantial analysis of the ruins at Qumran in 1951. This analysis yielded traces of pottery closely related to that found in Cave 1.Trever. ibid. This discovery led to intensive excavations at the site over a period of six seasons (1951–1956) under the direction of De Vaux. The most-prized find at Qumran up to this time were three small juglets containing over five-hundred silver coins, which were found in a room on the west side of the monastery. They consisted of tetradrachmae that had been minted in Tyre at various times in the first-century BCE.
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 the Book of Joshua 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.H. Eshel, "A Note on Joshua 15:61–62 and the Identification of the City of Salt." pp. 37–40. The excavations revealed that after the Iron Age, Qumran was principally in use from the Hasmonean times until some time after the destruction of the temple by Titus in 70 CE. 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 Period Ib, the latter Hasmoneans, ending with an earthquake and fire in 31 BCE (this was followed by a hiatus in de Vaux's interpretation of the site) Period II, the Herodian era, starting in 4 BCE on up to the destruction of the site apparently at the hands of the Romans during the Jewish War Period III, a reoccupation in the ruins
De Vaux's periodization has been challenged by both Jodi MagnessMagness 2000, p. 713f. Magness rejected Period Ia and the hiatus between Periods Ib and II. and Yizhar Hirschfeld.Hirschfeld, "Context", p. 52f. Hirschfeld proposed a new periodization based on the analysis of Humbert Revue Biblique 1994. 209f.
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 that had supplied water to several stepped cisterns, some quite large, located in various parts of the site. Two of these cisterns were 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 to carry water to newer cisterns farther 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 inkwellAlison Schofield , From Qumran to the Yaḥad: A New Paradigm of Textual Development for The Community Rule, Brill, 2009 pp. 255–256, or others with debated provenance, that number is more inkwells than found at any other site of the Second Temple Period, a significant indication of writing at Qumran.