The State of the Archaeological Debate at Qumran

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-118
Author(s):  
Robert R. Cargill

This article surveys the present state of archaeological research at Qumran. The article first examines those explorers who came to Qumran prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and interpreted the site without the influence of the scrolls. It then examines how the interpretation of the site changed following the discovery of the scrolls and the excavation of the site by Roland de Vaux. The article then offers a survey of recent contributions by those who excavated the site after de Vaux, as well as contributions made by those whose scholarship has influenced the interpretation of Qumran despite not having excavated there. The article concludes with a discussion of why the interpretation of Qumran weighs so heavily on our understanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 661
Author(s):  
Magnar Kartveit

The article describes the different models for understanding the origin of the Samaritans: the Samaritans’ own view; Flavius Josephus’ two stories; a model based upon the results of the excavations of the cities of Samaria and Shechem, plus information from ancient authors; new insights from the Dead Sea Scrolls; and models based on the results of the Mount Gerizim excavations; and the Delos inscriptions. Each of these models has its modern followers in scholarship, and their various adherents are named. A last part of the article is devoted to the state of the question of the origin of the Samaritans. The presentation is organized according to the sources because the material at hand has produced different solutions to the pertinent questions. Through quoting the texts and presenting the results of the excavations, the author gives the reader an opportunity to form her or his own opinions, both on the different theories and on the origin of the Samaritans.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-135
Author(s):  
Alison Schofield

Jodi Magness’ proposal that an altar existed at Qumran leaves some unanswered questions; nevertheless, her conclusions are worthy of consideration. This study examines her claim that the residents at Qumran had an altar, modeled off of the Wilderness Tabernacle, through the lens of critical spatial theory. The conceptual spaces of some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, such as The Damascus Document and The Community Rule, as well as the spatial practices of the site of Qumran do not rule out – and even support – the idea that Qumran itself was highly delimited and therefore its spaces hierarchized in such a way that it could have supported a central cultic site.


Canon&Culture ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 321-332
Author(s):  
Peter Flint
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea ◽  

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