These photographs were taken by Dr. Yizhar Hirshfeld (Institute of
Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem) for a research project
funded
by a grant from the Orion Center. Click on the thumbnail pictures to view
the enlargement.
[The following is an excerpt from an abstract of Dr. Hirshfeld's
lecture,
"Recent Discoveries in the Archaeology of Qumran," in the
Greenfield
Seminar Series on March 19, 1998]
The part of Qumran which is most similar to the other sites is the
main
building. The dominant feature of the main building is the tower in the
northwestern corner of the courtyard. The main building was probably the
pars urbana, that is, the living quarters of the site. The
surrounding
wings were the pars rustica, the industrial area of the site. The
water supply system of Qumran was capable of collecting 1,127 cubic m of
water. This is a considerable amount of water, but not unusual in
comparison
to the quantities that were collected at other desert fortresses in the
region. The number of ritual baths is not exceptional relative to the
number
discovered at other sites in Judaea.
The site of Qumran does not appear to have been a center for the
people
living in the nearby caves. A systematic survey of the caves has
demonstrated
that they were used for hiding objects, not for permanent inhabitation.
On the other hand, the site does not appear to be a fortress either. The
tower surrounded by a glacis made the site defensible, but the living
quarters,
featuring several entrances and irregular construction, were
characteristic
of a civilian complex. The industrial installations and the nearby tracts
of work land prove that the principal occupation of the inhabitants was
agriculture and agricultural processing. The integration of these
elements--the
tower, living quarters and installations--indicates that Qumran
functioned
as a fortified manor house.