Kalya, West Bank, Palestinian Territories — The Middle East (West Asia)

Qumran / קומראן

Qumran Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, March 10, 2023

1. Qumran Marker

Inscription. Here were found the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of the most important archeological discoveries in the world. They include biblical and apocryphal books and sectarian writings of the Second Temple period. The first settlement at Qumran was a fortress inhabited in the 8-6 centuries BCE. During the 1-2 centuries BCE, a small settlement existed here which was destroyed by an earthquake in 31 BCE.

The inhabitants returned to their community until its destruction by the Romans in 68 CE. Some Jewish warriors lived at Qumran during the Bar Kochba Revolt (132-135 CE) after which it was abandoned. The Second Temple period inhabitants of Qumran are known as the Qumran Sect. A group of some 200 Jews who chose to settle here and lead a collective and ascetic life. This may be gleaned from remains discovered at the site. The most important of which are fragments of 900 different Second Temple period scrolls found in 11 caves at Qumran. Some scholars assert that Qumran was a wayside inn, a Roman villa, a farmhouse, or a fortress.

(Hebrew not transcribed)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 31° 44.498′ N, 35° 27.539′ E. Marker is in Kalya, West Bank

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. Marker can be reached from West Bank Route 90. Touch for map. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Community Rule (here, next to this marker); Cave 1 / מערת 1 (here, next to this marker); Ritual Bath (within shouting distance of this marker); Kiln (within shouting distance of this marker); The Bursar of the Congregation (within shouting distance of this marker); The Refectory (within shouting distance of this marker); Pottery Storeroom (within shouting distance of this marker); Kitchen (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kalya.

Also see . . . Dead Sea Scrolls (Wikipedia).

Overview: The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea. Dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered to be a keystone in the history of archaeology with great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the biblical
Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, March 10, 2023

2. Suggested reconstruction of Qumran in the Second Temple Period Panel
canons, along with deuterocanonical and extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism. At the same time they cast new light on the emergence of Christianity and of Rabbinic Judaism...

(Submitted on April 19, 2023.)

Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, March 10, 2023

3. Qumran Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on May 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 13, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 54 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 13, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.