The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls

by Jodi Magness

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2002

Overview

The Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most interesting and important archaeological discoveries ever made, and the excavation of the Qumran community itself has provided invaluable information about Judaism and the Jewish world in the last centuries B.C.E. 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.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Fourth, de Vaux and Harding noticed that ‘sunk into the floor of one of the rooms was a jar identical with most of those found in the Scrolls cave [Cave 1].… We thus, even in the small area so far excavated, have a direct connection with the Scrolls.…’ In other words, they noticed that the pottery establishes a direct connection between the site of Qumran and the scrolls in the nearby caves. Lying on the floor next to the jar was a coin dated ca. 10 c.e.” (Pages 27–28)

“James VanderKam has observed that ‘perhaps it is not strange that the three books that appear on the largest number of copies at Qumran are also the three [Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Psalms] that are quoted most frequently in the New Testament.’” (Page 35)

“Qumran’s ancient name was Secacah. Secacah is one of the six desert towns listed in Joshua 15:61–62” (Page 25)

“As we shall see, all of the available evidence supports de Vaux’s interpretation of Qumran as a sectarian settlement.” (Page 15)

“noted that the same types of cooking pots and oil lamps found in Cave 1 were represented in the settlement.” (Page 28)

Praise for the Print Edition

In the half century since Roland de Vaux excavated Qumran, the most important contributions to its archaeology have undoubtedly been made by Jodi Magness. Her erudite, painstaking, and levelheaded research has solved many of its problems. This book of hers is at once a first-rate scholarly work and a delightful read.

—Magen Broshi

Product Details

• Title: The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls
• Author: Jodi Magness
• Series: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature
• Publisher: W. B. Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 284

About Jodi Magness

Jodi Magness is Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, her research interests include ancient pottery, ancient synagogues, and the Roman army in the East, and she has published and lectured extensively on these subjects. She has participated in 20 different excavations in Israel and Greece, serving as codirector of the 1995 excavations in the Roman siege works at Masada. Her works include the award-winning books The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls and The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine.