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The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2nd ed.
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title and winner of the Biblical Archaeology Society’s Publication Award for Best Popular Book on Archaeology
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth century. Deposited in caves surrounding Qumran by members of a Jewish sect who lived at the site in the first century BCE and first century CE, they provide invaluable information about Judaism in the last centuries BCE.
Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, 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 provides an overview of the archaeology of Qumran that incorporates information from the Dead Sea Scrolls and other contemporary sources.
Magness identifies Qumran as a sectarian settlement, rejecting other interpretations including claims 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 archaeological evidence for the presence of women and children in the settlement. Numerous photos and diagrams give readers a firsthand look at the site.
Considered a standard text in the field for nearly two decades, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls is revised and updated throughout in its second edition in light of the publication of all the Dead Sea Scrolls and additional data from Roland de Vaux’s excavations, as well as Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg’s more recent excavations. Specialists and nonspecialists alike will find here an overview of the Qumran site and the Dead Sea Scrolls that is both authoritative and accessible.
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth century. Deposited in caves surrounding Qumran by members of a Jewish sect who lived at the site in the first century BCE and first century CE, they provide invaluable information about Judaism in the last centuries BCE.
Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, 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 provides an overview of the archaeology of Qumran that incorporates information from the Dead Sea Scrolls and other contemporary sources.
Magness identifies Qumran as a sectarian settlement, rejecting other interpretations including claims 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 archaeological evidence for the presence of women and children in the settlement. Numerous photos and diagrams give readers a firsthand look at the site.
Considered a standard text in the field for nearly two decades, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls is revised and updated throughout in its second edition in light of the publication of all the Dead Sea Scrolls and additional data from Roland de Vaux’s excavations, as well as Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg’s more recent excavations. Specialists and nonspecialists alike will find here an overview of the Qumran site and the Dead Sea Scrolls that is both authoritative and accessible.
340 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2002
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About the author
Jodi Magness
30 books25 followersJodi Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author and editor of several books, including Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus (2011); The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine (2003); and The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (2002).
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 8, 2022
While the consensus view regarding the relationship between Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls is that Qumran was a sectarian settlement of Essenes and that the scrolls are associated with Qumran, either having been written or copied their or brought there by converts, there are some who disagree. Some of their suggestions include that Qumran was a fortress, villa, manor house or commercial entrepot and that the scrolls had been hidden by Jews from Jerusalem to protect them from the Romans. In this book Dr. Magness defends the consensus view, and some of her points can be summarized as follows:
• Some of the scrolls were found in clay jars, specimens of which were found in Qumran. Because this jar type has not been found elsewhere, the jars and the scrolls within them were associated with Qumran.
• Cave 4, in which the bulk of the scrolls were found, is a manmade cave cut into the marl terrace on which Qumran is located and is very close to the settlement, providing additional evidence that the scrolls were associated with Qumran.
• While there is a watchtower, the settlement is unlike the fortresses of that time period and lacks sufficient robustness to have served as a defensive installation.
• The décor within the settlement is exceedingly simple, unlike contemporary Hasmonian and Herodian manor houses.
Various documents among the scrolls suggest that the Essenes started out as a group of dissident priests who disagreed with the non-Zadokite high priesthood of the Hasmonean era as well as the calendar it used in setting the dates of Jewish holy days, among other things. Because of these disagreements, they considered the sacrifices being offered in the temple to be null and void, useless, and sought other ways to offer their own sacrifices in the form of holy and ritually pure living and their communal meals. Personally, I can’t help but wonder if the communal meals might have been analogous to the peace offerings described in Leviticus.
One thing really stood out to me about the Essenes was their obsession with ritual purity. Their pottery reflected an effort to prevent defilement of the contents. For example, they felt that liquids could easily transmit impurity; so; they used specially designed lids for their jars that would completely cover the opening and extend downward around it, not unlike a modern coke bottle lid, without the threads, of course. The openings were also oversized to allow the contents to be scooped out. With regards to pouring liquids from container A to container B, the Pharisees that an unclean container A could defile container B, they didn’t believe uncleanness could travel upstream from container B to container A. The Essenes disagreed, believing that uncleanness could be transmitted in both directions; hence, their preference for scooping rather than pouring. At the same time, they utilized water-filled miqva’ot for personal purification purposes that were sized such that they had sufficient water to cleanse ritual impurity. There were multiple large miqva’ot strategically placed near the entrances as well as work areas, allowing people to purify themselves en masse while in route to communal meals, etc. Interestingly enough, some of them had wide steps with a raised divider to separate the potentially unclean people entering the miqvah from the cleansed people exiting it. While the Torah required ritual cleanness of all Israelites, the standards for the priests were higher on account of their duties. So, it makes sense that a sect founded by dissident priests would maintain a strict standard of ritual purity.
Unlike other archaeology publications that are intended for a general audience, such as Biblical Archaeology Review, the writings of Eric Cline and William Dever and even The Dead Sea Scrolls Today, by James Vanderkam, the target audience for this book appears to be scholars. It goes into technical detail on the use of pottery as a dating mechanism, comparative analysis, etc. So, if you are looking for light reading, look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you want well-reasoned technical arguments, you are at the right place. Dr. Magness showed clear, concise reasoning that appeared to anticipate potential objections to her conclusions. One weakness of the Kindle version that I read was poor scans of site maps. In some of the maps the locus numbers ranged from illegible to barely legible, making it difficult to follow some of Dr. Magness’ site descriptions. Even with this liability, this book is worth your time if you want a better understanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes.
• Some of the scrolls were found in clay jars, specimens of which were found in Qumran. Because this jar type has not been found elsewhere, the jars and the scrolls within them were associated with Qumran.
• Cave 4, in which the bulk of the scrolls were found, is a manmade cave cut into the marl terrace on which Qumran is located and is very close to the settlement, providing additional evidence that the scrolls were associated with Qumran.
• While there is a watchtower, the settlement is unlike the fortresses of that time period and lacks sufficient robustness to have served as a defensive installation.
• The décor within the settlement is exceedingly simple, unlike contemporary Hasmonian and Herodian manor houses.
Various documents among the scrolls suggest that the Essenes started out as a group of dissident priests who disagreed with the non-Zadokite high priesthood of the Hasmonean era as well as the calendar it used in setting the dates of Jewish holy days, among other things. Because of these disagreements, they considered the sacrifices being offered in the temple to be null and void, useless, and sought other ways to offer their own sacrifices in the form of holy and ritually pure living and their communal meals. Personally, I can’t help but wonder if the communal meals might have been analogous to the peace offerings described in Leviticus.
One thing really stood out to me about the Essenes was their obsession with ritual purity. Their pottery reflected an effort to prevent defilement of the contents. For example, they felt that liquids could easily transmit impurity; so; they used specially designed lids for their jars that would completely cover the opening and extend downward around it, not unlike a modern coke bottle lid, without the threads, of course. The openings were also oversized to allow the contents to be scooped out. With regards to pouring liquids from container A to container B, the Pharisees that an unclean container A could defile container B, they didn’t believe uncleanness could travel upstream from container B to container A. The Essenes disagreed, believing that uncleanness could be transmitted in both directions; hence, their preference for scooping rather than pouring. At the same time, they utilized water-filled miqva’ot for personal purification purposes that were sized such that they had sufficient water to cleanse ritual impurity. There were multiple large miqva’ot strategically placed near the entrances as well as work areas, allowing people to purify themselves en masse while in route to communal meals, etc. Interestingly enough, some of them had wide steps with a raised divider to separate the potentially unclean people entering the miqvah from the cleansed people exiting it. While the Torah required ritual cleanness of all Israelites, the standards for the priests were higher on account of their duties. So, it makes sense that a sect founded by dissident priests would maintain a strict standard of ritual purity.
Unlike other archaeology publications that are intended for a general audience, such as Biblical Archaeology Review, the writings of Eric Cline and William Dever and even The Dead Sea Scrolls Today, by James Vanderkam, the target audience for this book appears to be scholars. It goes into technical detail on the use of pottery as a dating mechanism, comparative analysis, etc. So, if you are looking for light reading, look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you want well-reasoned technical arguments, you are at the right place. Dr. Magness showed clear, concise reasoning that appeared to anticipate potential objections to her conclusions. One weakness of the Kindle version that I read was poor scans of site maps. In some of the maps the locus numbers ranged from illegible to barely legible, making it difficult to follow some of Dr. Magness’ site descriptions. Even with this liability, this book is worth your time if you want a better understanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes.
February 28, 2025
As usual, Jodi Magness is a brilliant scholar, teacher, and writer. She does the impossible through her writings. She’s able to write a out archeology in very accessible terms for non-experts. Also, she’s able to write about such a controversial and sensitive topic as the history and archaeology of judeo-christianity in a very unbiased language, makes her a reference to those who seek true knowledge without fear of swaying narratives.! The only issue that annoyed me is that I thought the book speaks about the Dead Sea Scrolls not the archaeology of the Qumran site itself. It provided me though with good book suggestions about the former.!
Highly highly recommended.
Highly highly recommended.
September 21, 2020
In-depth study of all aspects of the Qumran site, comparing it to other sites. Takes the original work done in the 1950's and anazlyzed it in relation to current archaeological assumptions, and considering that not all of De Vaux (Roland de Vaux, of the Palestine Archaeological Museum, arrived at the cave, known as Cave 1, and began to dig. Soon de Vaux was given authorization to conduct a full scale excavation of the area.) has been published. Magness clearly gives her views even when they conflict with De Vaux. The Dead Sea scrolls are only used as backup to the archaeology.
September 24, 2020
A very engaging study of the archaeology of a prominent site that sits at a crossroads of history, religion, culture and geography. Congratulations to Jodi Magness for creating a work that is both readable and authoratitive, avoiding both the traps or romantic-sensationalism and academic remoteness. Bravo!
January 22, 2023
Excellent, both in the field of Qumran Studies and Biblical Archaeology, and as an example of thoughtful scholarly reasoning. Can't recommend this volume highly enough
July 14, 2012
Since this is only the second work concerning Qumran that I have read I am not sure how helpful this review will be. However, I found this book to be a great read for the most part and informative concerning the matters surrounding Qumran.
The first thing that I noticed about this book was the accessibility of it. Although, I have not studied Qumran in detail I minored in anthropology and this gave me an edge into the language used in the field. Most people reading this book may not have the same background but Dr. Magness takes time to explain a few things about dating methods and always tries to make sure that she explains archaeological terms in clear non-technical language. In other words, Dr. Magness is not merely interested in talking to academics, or hearing the sound of her own voice, but she wants to talk to general audiences.
The work that she does here surveys the archaeological findings of De Vaux who excavated the site but did not publish a detailed analysis of his finds. She examines his findings and attempts to interpret what this community looked like. She makes a very good case for the idea that Qumran was not a military fort or a private villa. There seems to have been a community there and like Stegemann she thinks that this community was responsible for the production of the scrolls themselves. Her history of the finding of the scrolls by the Bedouins was scant compared with Stegemann who gave more detail to the matter. This is of course a trivial matter as her main goal had nothing to do with providing the background to the finding of the scrolls.
I think she does well interacting with historical texts such as "The Community Rule" and established a solid case for the unique style of pottery assemblages at Qumran. She explains the strange purification rituals of the Essenes showing that many of the finds such as the "miqva'ot" (bath) and the style of the pottery lend themselves as evidence for Essene occupation. I found the purification process and the community meal to interesting and especially in comparing with Biblical texts. Many of the habits described seem to resemble (imperfectly) some of the statements and ideas found in the writings attributed to the Apostle John. It certainly raises questions as to what kind of contact the biblical writer might have had with the Essene population.
I also thought she gave a fair argument for the dating issue which I cannot say is necessarily correct without further study. De Vaux thought there were 4 periods of occupations. Period IA ca. 130-100 B.C.E. was thought to be the first occupation but due to a number of problems such as almost complete lack of coinage and pottery shards (among others) Magness believes this period did not exist. Period Ib De Vaux dated from ca. 100-31 B.C.E. but Magness suggests that the community was inhabited 100-50 B.C.E. and after the a massive Earthquake was uninhabited till 31 B.C.E. After this period both scholars agree on Period III and IV.
Overall, I think the book was well done. She made a fair argument for women as part of the Qumran community but it was not necessarily quite convincing (Although, I am inclined to agree.) Despite some boring spots the book was overall very engaging and enlightening.
The first thing that I noticed about this book was the accessibility of it. Although, I have not studied Qumran in detail I minored in anthropology and this gave me an edge into the language used in the field. Most people reading this book may not have the same background but Dr. Magness takes time to explain a few things about dating methods and always tries to make sure that she explains archaeological terms in clear non-technical language. In other words, Dr. Magness is not merely interested in talking to academics, or hearing the sound of her own voice, but she wants to talk to general audiences.
The work that she does here surveys the archaeological findings of De Vaux who excavated the site but did not publish a detailed analysis of his finds. She examines his findings and attempts to interpret what this community looked like. She makes a very good case for the idea that Qumran was not a military fort or a private villa. There seems to have been a community there and like Stegemann she thinks that this community was responsible for the production of the scrolls themselves. Her history of the finding of the scrolls by the Bedouins was scant compared with Stegemann who gave more detail to the matter. This is of course a trivial matter as her main goal had nothing to do with providing the background to the finding of the scrolls.
I think she does well interacting with historical texts such as "The Community Rule" and established a solid case for the unique style of pottery assemblages at Qumran. She explains the strange purification rituals of the Essenes showing that many of the finds such as the "miqva'ot" (bath) and the style of the pottery lend themselves as evidence for Essene occupation. I found the purification process and the community meal to interesting and especially in comparing with Biblical texts. Many of the habits described seem to resemble (imperfectly) some of the statements and ideas found in the writings attributed to the Apostle John. It certainly raises questions as to what kind of contact the biblical writer might have had with the Essene population.
I also thought she gave a fair argument for the dating issue which I cannot say is necessarily correct without further study. De Vaux thought there were 4 periods of occupations. Period IA ca. 130-100 B.C.E. was thought to be the first occupation but due to a number of problems such as almost complete lack of coinage and pottery shards (among others) Magness believes this period did not exist. Period Ib De Vaux dated from ca. 100-31 B.C.E. but Magness suggests that the community was inhabited 100-50 B.C.E. and after the a massive Earthquake was uninhabited till 31 B.C.E. After this period both scholars agree on Period III and IV.
Overall, I think the book was well done. She made a fair argument for women as part of the Qumran community but it was not necessarily quite convincing (Although, I am inclined to agree.) Despite some boring spots the book was overall very engaging and enlightening.
December 28, 2014
The book provided many interesting details on how the community at Qumran lived. Ritual purity laws dictated some of the materials that people used when making even simple objects like jars. She does a good job of tying in some of the ancient texts with the archeological evidence. I wish there had been some better maps of the settlement as a whole. Overall, a very good book for familiarizing yourself with Qumran the settlement.
May 15, 2008
a very hard read, too technical at times...but very informative
February 1, 2014
Fantastically written. Some of the illustrations, which are referred to frequently, are far too small to actually see.
Otherwise, a real 5 star read.
Otherwise, a real 5 star read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews