 View of Qumran |
 Qumran caves |
Qumran (Mezad Hasidim)
Remains of a settlement from the days of the Second Temple, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
Located near the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Two Bedouin shepherds accidentally came across a clay jar in a cave that contained the now world-famous parchment scrolls.
Some consider Qumran to be the site of the Biblical city of Salt (Joshua 15:22). It was destroyed by Babylonians and resettled by the Essene sect who came here in the 2nd century BCE. This small sect functioned as an ascetic cooperative community, rejected established Temple rituals, and, among other activities, engaged in writing and copying holy manuscripts. Some experts consider the Essenes to be the forerunners of Christianity. During the Revolt against Rome some Essenes joined the insurgents. When the Roman army approached Qumran in 68 CE, the inhabitants hid their holy writings in the caves of Nahal Qumran to the west. Some of these writings were discovered in 1947 and have been called the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Coins show the place was again inhabited in 132-135 by Bar Kokhba’s fighters, before being deserted forever.
The ruined settlement was excavated and restored and one can now see remains of a tower, interconnected buildings, assembly hall, scriptorium, refectory, water reservoirs, ritual baths, storerooms and a pottery workshop. West of the settlement, outside the fence, is an extensive cemetery. The Qumran caves contained many manuscripts including the First and Second Isaiah Scrolls – 7 meters (22 feet) long, Thanksgiving Psalms, Pesher Habakkuk (the best preserved of the Qumran commentaries), the Manual of Discipline and the War Scroll.
Most of the scrolls are now located in the Israel Museum and some are on display in the Shrine of the Book, of which the Isaiah Scrolls make up the centerpiece. A carbon-dating test shows the scrolls date from the 1st century.
