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Qumran is located on a dry plateau on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. It is best known as the nearest centre to the hiding place of the Dead Sea Scrolls.Since the discovery of the scrolls, extensive excavations have been done. Jewish ritual baths and cemeteries have been found, a large cistern , a large dining or assembly room, a scriptorium, and a guard tower. The site was constructed sometime between 150 and 130 BC. Most scholars believe it was home to a Jewish sect, most often said to be the 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 could contain some answers, if women are buried there in great numbers. It would tell what the sect is like and who lived there, but under Jewish law excavating cemeteries is forbidden.
The scrolls were found in a series of caves just to the west of the communityCommunity is a set of people (or agents in a more abstract sense) with some shared element. Also a community is a group of people or things that live in the same area. The substance of shared element varies widely, from a situation to interest to lives an. Some of the caves seem to have been permanent librariesAlternative meanings: Library (computer science), Library (biology In its traditional sense, a library is a collection of books. It can refer to an individual's private collection, but more often, it is a large collection that is funded and maintained by with built in shelves. Most of the scrolls seem to have been dumped in the caves during the turmoil of the First Jewish RevoltRebellion The Great Jewish Revolt ( 66 70 CE), sometimes called The first Jewish-Roman War was the first of three rebellions against the Roman Empire by the Jews of Judea. It began in 66, sparked by religious violence between the Jews and the local Hellen.
At that time JerichoFor other meanings of the word Jericho see: Jericho (disambiguation Jericho ( Arabic Ari Hebrew alphabet Standard Hebrew Yrio Tiberian Hebrew Yri Yri is a town in the West Bank, near the west bank of the Jordan River. Biblical background Jericho is mentio and JerusalemCapitals in Asia For alternate uses see Jerusalem (disambiguation Jerusalem ( Modern Hebrew: Yerushalayim Biblical Hebrew: Arabic: al-Quds see also Names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christ had been sacked, but Qumran was still standing. Ancient Israelites thus hid hundreds of parchmentParchment is a material for the pages of a book or codex, made from fine calf skin, sheep skin or goat skin. Parchment is named after the city Pergamon where it was first invented. One sort of parchment is vellum, a word that is used loosely to mean parch scrolls in the caves of the sheer desertEgyptian desert In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation. As a consequence, deserts have a reputation for supporting very little life. Compared to wetter regions this may be true, although upon closer examina cliffIn geography, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are categorised as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments,s near Qumran. The texts represent the beliefs and practices of many different Jewish sects. Many of them were selected for the library there, when Qumran became the asylum for supporters of the traditional priestly family of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A letter found in the 1990s expresses their reasons for creating the community, some of which mirror Sadducean arguments in the Talmud.
Schiffman, Lawrence, “Origin and Early History of the Qumran Sect” Biblical Archaeology. Volume 58 Number 1, March 1995.
