The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature)
Jodi Magness
Language: English
Pages: 284
ISBN: 0802826873
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, however, the Qumran site continues to be the object of intense scholarly debate. In a book meant to introduce general readers to this fascinating area of study, veteran archaeologist Jodi Magness here provides an overview of the archaeology of Qumran and presents an exciting new interpretation of this ancient community based on information found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other contemporary documents.
Magness's work offers a number of fresh conclusions concerning life at Qumran. She agrees that Qumran was a sectarian settlement but rejects other unconventional views, including the view that Qumran was a villa rustica or manor house. By carefully analyzing the published information on Qumran, she refines the site's chronology, reinterprets the purpose of some of its rooms, and reexamines the archaeological evidence for the presence of women and children in the settlement. Numerous photos and diagrams give readers a firsthand look at the site.
Written with an expert's insight yet with a journalist's spunk, this engaging book is sure to reinvigorate discussion of this monumental archaeological find.
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aspects o f Greek and Roman culture (in other words, they were Hellenized). The Sadducees derived their name from Zadok, the high priest o f the First Jewish Temple at the time o f Solomon (ca. 960 b . c . e .). The descendants o f Zadok served as high priests through the First Temple and Second Temple periods, until the Hasmonean kings usurped control o f this office. The community at Qumran was apparently founded and led by priests who called themselves the sons o f Zadok. Because o f this, the
the room. The adjacent pantry (L86 in Period lb; divided into L86, L87, L89 in Period II) containing a store of over 1000 dishes indicates that L77 was also used as a communal din ing room (see Figs. 29,30). The walls and floor o f L77 were plastered. During Period lb, its floor sloped gently down from the western end to a doorway in the southeast wall, and from there rose slightly to the eastern end of the room. A water channel that opened through the doorway in the northwest wall (from L54)
its eastern end), the room could no longer be washed in the same way as be fore. The dining room was now moved to the second-story level o f L77 (see Chapter 6). The bay window on the north side o f L30 (the “ scriptorium” ) was blocked in Period II. A thick burnt mat was spread over the 2 m. o f floor at the southern end of the room at the ground-floor level. The room was filled with the debris o f the collapsed second-story level, which yielded the remains of a long, narrow, mud-brick table
obscured the fact that the sectarian practices were the exception rather than the norm in antiquity. In my opinion, modern scholars have overlooked some of the peculiar practices o f the Essenes described by Josephus because they sound normal to us: for example, finding a secluded spot when defecating and wash ing afterwards, or being served food on individual dishes instead of eating with others out o f a common dish (see below). The sectarians developed these habits out o f concern with the
communal meals contrasts with Greek and Roman symposia, which were characterized by the consumption o f large quantities o f wine and loud, boisterous behavior (see Fig. 36). This too is singled out for description by Josephus (War 2.132-33). 126 , Communal Meals, a Toilet and Sacred Space at Qumran The Concept of Space at Qumran Another feature of the dining rooms at Qumran corresponds with the testi m ony o f Josephus and the scrolls. As I mentioned above, members were re quired to