Qumran (Hebrew:חירבת קומראן Khirbet Qumran) is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. The site was constructed sometime between 150 and 130 BC and saw various phases of occupation until, in the summer of 68, Titus and his X Fretensis destroyed it. It is best known as the settlement nearest to the hiding place of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves of the sheer desert cliffs. Location near 31°45′N 35°26′E Hebrew redirects here. ... Monte Roraima In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country. ... The Dead Sea (Arabic: ‎; Hebrew: ) is both the lowest point on the Earth at 418 metres (1,371 ft) below sea level and falling[2], and the deepest hypersaline lake in the world at 330 m (1,083 ft) deep and 799 m (2,621 ft) below sea level. ... Centuries: 1st century BCE - 1st century - 2nd century Decades: 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s - 60s - 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s Years: 63 64 65 66 67 - 68 - 69 70 71 72 73 Events June 9 - Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide. ... For other uses, see Titus (disambiguation). ... Legio X Fretensis (Of the sea streits) was a Roman legion levied by Augustus in 41/40 BC to fight during the civil war; X Fretensis is recorded to exist at least until 260 AD. Its symbol was the bull (Latin: Taurus – holy animal of the goddess Venus, the mythical... The current version of the article or section is written like an essay. ... Image:Morocco Africa, which is where bottoms come from, Flickr Rosino December 2005 84514010 edited by Buchling. ... The Trango Towers in Pakistan have the highest cliffs in the world In geography, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. ...

Caves at Qumran

Since the discovery in the middle of the 20th century of almost 900 scrolls in various states of completeness, mostly written on parchment, extensive excavations of the settlement have been undertaken. Jewish ritual baths and cemeteries have been found, a large cistern, a large dining or assembly room, an alleged scriptorium, and a guard tower. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1072x1620, 370 KB) Qumran Caves, West Bank Description: Caves at Qumran in the West Bank, Middle East. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1072x1620, 370 KB) Qumran Caves, West Bank Description: Caves at Qumran in the West Bank, Middle East. ... Scroll can have different meanings: A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper which has been drawn or written upon. ... German parchmenter, 1568 Parchment is a material for the pages of a book or codex, made from fine calf skin, sheep skin or goat skin. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ... A cistern (Middle English cisterne, from Latin cisterna, from cista, box, from Greek kistê, basket) is a receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. ... A Scriptorium was a room or building, usually within a Christian monastery where, during medieval times, manuscripts were written. ...

Most scholars consider it to have been home to a Jewish sect, often said to be Essenes; others have proposed that it was a villa for a single wealthy family, or even that it was a Roman fort. The large cemetery nearby may contain some answers, if women are buried there in great numbers. It would tell what the occupants of the settlement were like and who lived there; but under Jewish law excavating cemeteries is forbidden. A scholar is either a student or someone who has achieved a mastery of some academic discipline, perhaps receiving financial support through a scholarship. ... A sect is generally a small religious or political group that has branched off from a larger established group. ... The Essenes (es-eenz) were followers of a religious way of living in Judaism that flourished from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. Many scholars today argue that there were a number of separate but related groups that had in common mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs... The idea and function of a villa has evolved considerably since its invention towards the end of the Roman Republic. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Fortifications (Latin fortis, strong, and facere, to make) are military constructions designed for defensive warfare. ... Excavation is the best-known and most commonly used technique within the science of archaeology. ...

The scrolls were found in a series of caves just to the west of the settlement. Some of the caves seem to have been permanent libraries with built in shelves. The texts found in them represent the beliefs and practices of different Jewish religious orientations. A number of them appear to have been selected for the library there, when Qumran is thought to have become the asylum for supporters of the traditional priestly family of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A letter found in the 1990s expresses the reasons for creating a community, some of which mirror Sadducean arguments in the Talmud. But most of the scrolls seem to have been dumped in the caves only during the turmoil of the First Jewish Revolt, at a time when Jericho and Jerusalem were facing the sack, or had already been sacked, but Qumran was still standing and secretly accessible from Jerusalem via the Kidron Valley. A modern-style library in Chambéry In the traditional sense of the word, a library is a collection of books and periodicals, . It can refer to an individuals private collection, but more often it is a large collection that is funded and maintained by a city or institution. ... Power lines leading to a trash dump hover just overhead in El Carpio, a Nicaraguan refugee camp in Costa Rica Under international law, a refugee is a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her... Roman Catholic priests in traditional clerical clothing. ... The sect of the Sadducees (or Zadokites and other variants) - which may have originated as a political party - was founded in the 2nd century BC and ceased to exist sometime == after the 1st century AD. Their rivals, the Pharisees, are said to have originated in the same time period, but... The Hasmonean Kingdom (pronunciation) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BCE to 37 BCE was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. // Recorded history The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the... The sect of the Sadducees (or Zadokites and other variants) - which may have originated as a political party - was founded in the 2nd century BC and ceased to exist sometime after the 1st century AD. Their rivals, the Pharisees, are said to have originated in the same time period, but... The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... It has been proposed below that Great Jewish Revolt be renamed and moved to First Jewish-Roman War. ... The Taking of Jericho, by Jean Fouquet Near central Jericho, November 1996 For other meanings of the word Jericho, see: Jericho (disambiguation) Jericho (Arabic ; ʼArīḥā; Hebrew ; Standard Hebrew Yəriḥo; Tiberian Hebrew Yərîḫô, Yərîḥô, Greek Ίεριχώ = Ίερή ηχώ, Hierē ēchō - Holy echo) is a town in the West Bank, near... Panoramic view from Mt. ... The Kidron Valley (or Qidron Valley) is valley near Jerusalem which features significantly in the Bible. ...

More recently the theory of Qumran being a religious settlement has garnered much critique by some archaeologists and is not considered very likely anymore by a group of Israeli and American scholars. According to them, the ruins at Qumran were most probably a merchant outpost or a pottery factory. However, European archaeologists who have carried out studies at the ruins do not agree either with the merchant outpost or the present pottery workshop theory. Belgian scholars have suggested that the settlement served as a Roman villa, but the French who originally excavated the site still insist that the settlement served as an Essene site. A survey and spatial studies carried out by Finnish and British archaeologists in the ruins of Qumran in the 1990s have brought into light new results which are supported by natural scientists. This theory based on a modern spatial study (see scientific isprs organisation website) of the orientations of the settlement and the graves, shows that both the settlement and the graves belonged to an intentional planning scheme and are connected to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes. A strong link between the ruins, the scrolls and the Essenes is the solar calendar comprised in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The alignment of the ruins follows the typical orientations of the societies using a solar calendar. Locus 77, known as a refectory or an assembly hall, in the Qumran settlement, is aligned according to the mid-summer solstice sunset. This has been empirically proven. Both the French and Finnish scholars agree that it served as a sanctuary for the Essenes.

According to the information given by Philo of Alexandria, the closest community comparable to the Essenes is the Jewish Therapeutae known to have lived in Graeco-Roman Egypt. Philo describes the customs of the Jewish Therapeutae of Egypt and the Essenes. He clearly describes the penetration of the Egyptian solar adoration and Pythagorean beliefs to the customs of the Jewish Therapeutae, while Josephus tells about the invocation of the sun by the Essenes and the rules not to defile the rays of the deity (visible rays that can only refer to the Sun) when one is doing the private deeds in wilderness. Common doctrines with solar aspirations between the Jewish Therapeutae of Egypt and the Essenes lead to the common roots with the Jews in exile in Egypt, exemplified in the influence of the Egyptian and Pythagorean calendars. It is also to be emphasized that the only comparable communal texts to the Dead Sea Scrolls have been found in the Geniza of the Caraite synagogue in Cairo in Egypt, which also is another external link to indicate the connections to Egypt. The sun dial found in Qumran follows the skaphion type used by the Pythagorean Aristarchos of Samos in Alexandria. Interestingly Josephus characterises the Essenes as comparable to the Pythagoreans. One needs to bear in mind that, when the settlement of Qumran dating to the Graeco-Roman period was established, Alexandria was a major city with number of Jewish residents, and Qumran area was under the rule of the Ptolemies and Seleucids before the Roman occupation.

Pottery, glass and coins found at Qumran and along the shore are existing proof of flourishing trade connections in the area, and provide evidence that Qumrna did not live in a vacuum in the Graeco-Roman period. The ritual baths at Qumran are a typical feature for Jewish and Oriental mystery cults of the period. According to the Israeli scholars Magen and Peleg, the clay found in the baths was used for pottery factory facilities, but due to the evidence put forward by natural scientists, such as an Israeli scholar C. Klein, Qumran has been under flooding that has caused aragonite crusting on the walls of the buildings as well as layers of clay accumulation in the structures.

See also

• Temple in Jerusalem: section on Possible Temple at Qumran under Attempts at Rebuilding

The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash) was built in ancient Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE and was subsequently rebuilt twice, after the Babylonian Captivity and during Herod the Greats renovation. ...

External links

• Spatial Approach to the Ruins of Khirbet Qumran at the Dead Sea, [1]
• Claims that Qumran was a pottery factory: Schiffman, Lawrence, “Origin and Early History of the Qumran Sect”, Biblical Archaeology. Volume 58, Number 1, March 1995.
• Dead Sea Scrolls theory faces new challenge - New archaeological evidence is raising more questions about the conventional interpretation linking the desolate ruins of an ancient settlement known as Qumran with the Dead Sea Scrolls.