What do we know about the ancient cemetery associated with the community at Qumran?

The cemetery was first excavated by the archaeologist Roland de Vaux, who excavated the Qumran site and caves from 1949-1956. Over time, more and more graves excavated by past expeditions were discovered. Recently, when it was decided to open new access paths in the national park, a new excavation was conducted led by Evgeny Aharonovich from the Staff Officer for Archaeology/SOA (note, Qumran is located in the West Bank, the archaeologist works for SOA->unit within Civil Administration->under COGAT->under Israel Defence Ministry). Its results and significance were presented at the recent conference “Archaeology and Site Conservation in Judea and Samaria”.

First, there is a question and debate over the nature of the Qumran site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. The consensus is that the scrolls were written by a group that called itself “Yahad,” which lived a highly rigid communal and ascetic lifestyle, and believed in a cataclysmic war between the Sons of Light (them) against the Sons of Darkness (not them), during which they planned to take over the Temple in Jerusalem and reconstitute a new Judaism. Actually all the scrolls were found in caves around the site and not at the site itself – in fact it is estimated that the site could not accommodate more than a few dozen people. Judging by the large number of scrolls, more than 930 and small number of people we can ask what is the connection between the site and the scrolls? And who are the people who wrote them?

There are four other theories: 1) Qumran was a secular winter estate for a wealthy family from Jerusalem, 2) site served primarily as a Hasmonean or Roman military outpost guarding the borders, 3) an industrial hub, serving as an agricultural date-palm or even afarsimon estate and a regional commercial pottery facility, over 1,000 intact ceramic vessels were found—including bowls, plates, drinking cups, jugs, and cooking pots 4) the 900+ scrolls suggest a broad national collection. the rescued contents of archives from the Temple in Jerusalem. Other objects that were found include over 1,200 coins spanning from the Hasmonean period (130 BCE) through the Jewish Revolt (68 CE), including a notable hoard of silver Tyrian shekels; tiny Phylacteries; the Copper Scroll found in Cave 3, a mysterious treasure map listing 64 underground hiding locations across Israel filled with gold and silver temple artifacts;

Since the days of Prof. Sukenik, who deciphered the first scrolls discovered by Beduin shepherds and sold to a shoemaker and antiquities dealer Kando in Bethlehem there were researchers who identified the people of the “Yahad” with the Essenes described by Josephus. Among the Essenes there were no women—people joined the Essenes when they grew weary of the sinful life of the world. On the other hand, the scrolls actually deal extensively with women.

From this excavation of the cemetery we learn that this is a planned cemetery, the area is 2.5 times the size of the inhabited site, the graves are arranged in straight rows. In the past, excavations in the cemetery did not successfully separate the “original” graves from the graves of the Bedouins who continued to bury in the cemetery making it more difficult to identify.

Aharonovich was able to show the characteristic type of the Qumran grave—a sort of small “chamber” located at the bottom of a shaft. Rock piles (cairns/tumuli) were erected above the shaft. In one of the graves, the excavators even discovered a deceased individual who was interred inside a wooden coffin at the bottom of a shaft. Granted, the coffin itself was not found—but the wooden nails that connected the parts of the coffin were discovered on site. Where did the wood come from? After all, there is no suitable material in the vicinity of Qumran. Even stranger, the remains of a metal lock and door hinges were also discovered in that same coffin.

Researchers found that there are graves where several people were buried together. And here is the most fascinating twist: out of 35 skeletons discovered during thislatest excavation, 31 skeletons were definitively identified as male skeletons, only one skeleton as female—this isupports the sectarian nature of the Qumran settlement. The gender distribution matches the historical description by Josephus, according to which women were not allowed to join the group.

An explanation must still be sought for the appearance of that single deceased female discovered in the new excavation. And also for 15 additional women identified in previous excavations dating back to the days of de Vaux. Researchers’ conclusion is that since men constitute the majority (about 85%) of those buried in the cemetery, it appears that the site was populated by males and likely a religious, ascetic sect. Anyone among Qumran researchers who continue to hold the view that the site was not the home of a sect will now have to work very hard to explain this definitive data on the gender distribution in the cemetery.

Archaeological discoveries over the years strongly suggest the presence of women at the site—the following items were found in graves of women: earrings, bead necklaces and anklets, rings and pendants; spindle whorl for spinning wool or flax into thread was found within the Qumran settlement—a domestic task traditionally associated with women in the ancient Near East; small cosmetic and perfume bottles (unguentaria) were recovered from the site, these were heavily associated with women’s grooming and purification rituals In Second Temple Judea.