The Unsorted BBS Collection/thegreatunsorted.tar/thegreatunsorted/texts/txtfiles_misc/objects2.txt

Text File | 1993-07-27 | 20KB | 542 lines

                   SCROLLS FROM THE DEAD SEA:
      THE ANCIENT LIBRARY OF QUMRAN AND MODERN SCHOLARSHIP

                      The Qumran Community
                 Artifacts from the Qumran Site

These artifacts from the Qumran Site were on display in the
exhibit at the Library of Congress, May - August 1993.  They were
provided courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.  The
exhibit captions (below) provide background on the objects and
their relationship with the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran
Community, and its Library.


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                                   IMAGE FILE NAME:  phylcase.gif
Qumran Phylactery Cases
Leather
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.

     Phylactery case A is constructed of two pieces of stitched
leather.  It contains four chambers and each compartment can hold
a minute slip containing a prayer.  Meant to be worn on the arm,
phylactery case B has only one compartment.  It is formed of a
single piece of leather folded in two, with one half deeply
stamped out to contain a tiny inscribed slip.  A fine leather
thong was inserted at the middle, and the halves were folded over
and stitched together.  Cases C-E are similar to the four-
compartment case A.

4Q Phyl cases 1008
Case A: length 3.2 cm (1 1/4 in.), width 1 cm (3/8 in.)
Case B: length 2.2 cm (7/8 in.), width 1.2 cm (1/2 in.)
Case C: length 2 cm (3/4 in.), width 1 cm (3/8 in.)
Case D: length 2.3 cm (7/8 in.), width 2.6 cm (1 in.)
Case E: length 1.3 cm (1/2 in.), width 2.1 cm (13/16 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (84)

Reference:
Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, I, p.7. Oxford, 1955.


    LAYOUT OF PHYLACTERY CASES IN COMPUTER IMAGE

               C         D         B

                    A         E


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                              Wood


     Wooden artifacts are rare finds in the material culture of
the ancient Near East, and few specimens from the Roman period
have survived.  Because of unusually arid climatic conditions at
Qumran, however, many wooden objects were retrieved including
bowls, boxes, mirror frames, and combs.  Their fine state of
preservation facilitates the study of ancient woodworking
techniques.


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                                      IMAGE FILE NAME:  combs.gif
Combs
Wood
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.


     Similar to most ancient combs, these combs are two-sided.
One side has closely-spaced teeth for straightening the hair, and
the other side provides even more teeth for delousing the scalp.
Both combs are fashioned from boxwood.


52.3, 52.3a
Comb A: length 6 cm (2 3/8 in.), width 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.)
Comb B: length 6.3 cm (2 1/2 in.), width 8 cm (3 1/8 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (85, 86)


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                                   IMAGE FILE NAME:  woodbowl.gif
Bowl
Wood
First century B.C.E.


     This deep bowl has a flat base, expertly turned on a lathe.
Several concentric circles are incised in its base, and the rim
of the bowl is rounded.  Most wooden objects found in the Qumran
area are of "acacia tortilis," a tree prevalent in the southern
wadis "valleys" of Israel.


52.40
Height 4.9 cm (1 15/16 in.), diameter 26 cm (10 1/4 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (87)


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                                    IMAGE FILE NAME:  pottery.gif
                                    IMAGE FILE NAME:   bigjar.gif

                             Pottery

     Locating pottery, coins, and written material at an
archaeological site establishes a relative and an absolute
chronological framework for a particular culture.  Pottery
vessels found in the immediate area of Qumran and items from the
surrounding caves and cliff openings are identical.  The area
seems to have been a regional center and most likely was supplied
by a single pottery workshop.

     A large number of cylindrical scroll jars were found at
Qumran.  Utilitarian items found in Qumran include small jugs,
flasks, drinking cups, cooking pots, serving dishes, and bowls.
A storeroom found during the excavation contained more than a
thousand pottery items arranged by function.  This trove included
vessels for cooking, serving, pouring, drinking, and dining.

References:
De Vaux, R. Archaeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls. London, 1973.
Lapp, P. Palestinian Ceramic Chronology, 200 B.C.-A.D. 70. New
     Haven, 1961.


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                                        IMAGE FILE NAME:  jar.gif
Two-handled Jar
Pottery
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.


     This elongated barrel-shaped jar has a ring base, a ribbed
body, a very short wide neck, and two loop handles.  The vessel
was probably used to store provisions.


KhQ 1634
Height 37.25 cm (14 1/2 in.), diameter 18.7 cm (7 1/4 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (55)


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                                       IMAGE FILE NAME:  lamp.gif
Herodian Lamp
Pottery with fiber wick
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.


     This type of lamp was found in strata associated with
Herod's reign (37-4 B.C.E.).  A similar lamp was uncovered in the
Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, in strata dating to the destruction
of the Second Temple (70 C.E.), thus raising questions as to the
date of the lamp.

     Characteristic features of this lamp type are a circular
wheel-made body, a flat unmarked base, and a large central
filling hole. The spatulate nozzle was hand-built separately and
later attached to the body.  Traces of a palm-fiber wick were
found in the lamp's nozzle.


52.2
Height 4.3 cm (1 11/16 in.), length 10 cm (4 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (74)


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                                     IMAGE FILE NAME:  plates.gif
Plates
Pottery
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.


     Plates, bowls, and goblets were found in one of the rooms at
Qumran, with dozens of vessels piled one on top of the other.
This room probably served as a "crockery" (storage area) near the
assembly room, which may have functioned as the dining room.

     These fifteen, wheel-made plates are shallow, with a ring
base and upright rim.  The firing is metallic.  Hundreds of
plates were recovered, most of them complete, some with traces of
soot.


KhQ 1591 a-o
Height 2.6-5.5 cm (1-2 3/16 in.), diameter 13.6-16.4 cm
(6 7/16-13 3/8 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (40-54)


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                                    IMAGE FILE NAME:  goblets.gif
Stacked Goblets
Pottery
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.


     During the excavation of the Qumran ruin, these V-shaped
drinking goblets were found stacked in what had been a storeroom.
The quality of their construction and craftsmanship leads some
contemporary archaeologists to argue that the site was a Roman
villa, because the presence of vessels of this quality would not
be in keeping with the austerity of an ascetic community.


KhQ 1587 a-h
Height 26.5 cm (10 7/16 in.), diameter 16 cm (6 1/4 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (65-72)


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                                    IMAGE FILE NAME:  (see below)
Vase, Jug, Cooking Pots, and Bowls
Pottery
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.


     These objects are representative of the finds from the
immediate area of Qumran.  The repertory of pottery from Qumran
chiefly consists of modest utilitarian items including cooking
pots, vases and small jugs, serving dishes, drinking cups, and
bowls.  These items on display are a small selection of the more
than 1000 pottery items found at the site.


KhQ364, KhQ 1192, KhQ 1565, KhQ 2506, KhQ 2506/a, KhQ 1601/a-b
Height 8.5-22 cm (3 3/8 in.-8 5/8 in.), diameter 17-26 cm
(6 5/8-10 1/4 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (59-64)


Vase                                     NO IMAGE FOR THIS OBJECT
     Height 17 cm (6 5/8 in.), diameter 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.)
     KhQ364
          An elongated piece with a ribbed body and a ring base,
     this vase has a short neck that is turned inside out.


Jug                                     IMAGE FILE NAME:  jug.gif
     Height 19.5 cm (7 5/8 in.), diameter 14 cm (5 1/2 in.)
     KhQ 1192
          This globular jug has a ribbed body and a long,
     tapering neck ending in a splayed rim.  A single-loop handle
     extends from the rim to the upper part of the body.


Cooking Pot                        IMAGE FILE NAME:  cookpot1.gif
     Height 15 cm (5 7/8 in.), diameter 24 cm (9 3/8 in.)
     KhQ 1565
          This flattened pot has a ribbed shoulder and a short,
     wide neck.  The firing is metallic.


Cooking Pots                       IMAGE FILE NAME:  cookpot2.gif
                                   IMAGE FILE NAME:  cookpot3.gif
     Height 20.5 cm (8 in.), diameter 26 cm (10 1/4 in.)
     KhQ 2506
     Height 22 cm (8 5/8 in.), diameter 23 cm (9 in.)
     KhQ 2506/a
          These two pots have a similar globular-shaped design.
     The surface of the body, from shoulder to base, is ribbed.
     Two ribbed handles span the vessel from the rim to the upper
     part of the shoulder.  The firing is metallic.  Traces of
     soot are discernable over the lower part.


Bowls                                 IMAGE FILE NAME:  bowls.gif
     Bowl A: Height 8.5 cm (3 3/8 in.), diameter 12.4 cm
     (4 7/8 in.)
     Bowl B: Height 9.2 cm (3 5/8 in.), diameter 13.5 cm
     (5 5/16 in.)
     KhQ 1601/a-b
          Hemispherical in shape, these bowls hav a ring base and
     an inverted rim.


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                      Basketry and Cordage


     Basketry and cordage represent major types of perishable
finds retrieved in this arid part of Israel.   The basketry
fragments on display are made of date palm leaves, a material
convenient for making baskets and mats.  Reconstruction of
weaving or plaiting techniques is possible because of the
exceptional conditions inside the caves of the Dead Sea region.
The technique used is a type of plaiting that was popular during
Roman times and remained in favor through the following
centuries; a variant is still used in the Near East today.
Basketry was probably very common, as it is to this day, in
various household activities.  However, in times of need, baskets
and mats also served for collecting and wrapping the bones and
skulls of the dead.

     Cordage was made from materials indigenous to this region:
palm leaves, palm fibers, and rushes.  Cords had various uses as
packaging and reinforcing material and as handles for baskets.


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                                     IMAGE FILE NAME:  basket.gif
Basket Fragments
Palm leaves
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.


     Because of the exceptional conditions inside the caves of
the Dead Sea region, several baskets and mats of plaited weave
survived intact, allowing the reconstruction of weaving or
plaiting techniques.  The Qumran plaited basket is made of a
single braid ("zefira" in Mishnaic terms) composed of several
elements (qala`ot) and spiraling from base to rim.  The coiled
braid was not sewn together; instead, successive courses were
joined around cords as the weaving progressed.  In a complete
basket the cords are not visible, but they form horizontal ridges
and a ribbed texture.  Each basket had two arched handles made of
palm-fiber rope attached to the rims by passing reinforcing cords
through the plaited body of the basket.


11Q
Fragment A: Length 26 cm (10 1/8 in.), width 16.5 cm (6 1/2 in.)
Fragment B: Length 21.2 cm (8 1/4 in.), width 19.5 cm (7 5/8 in.)
Four courses preserved
Technique: Braid of 13 elements in 2/2 twill plaiting
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (77, 78)


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                                    IMAGE FILE NAME:  cordage.gif
Cords and Ropes
Palm leaves, palm fibers, and rushes
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.


     The cordage on display represents binding materials of
varying thickness and use.  Fragment A may have functioned as a
ridge or reinforcing cord.  Fragments B-D are heavier cords and
may have been used in packaging or to tie bundles and waterskins.
Fragment E (image not available for online exhibit) is a detached
handle.

Fragment A:
     Cord
     Palm leaves
     1Q and 2Q
     Diameter 3 mm (1/8 in.)
     Technique: 2-ply cable, final twist in "S" direction (z2s)

Fragments B-D:
     Ropes
     Palm leaves and undeterimined rushes
     Diameter 7-10 mm (1/4-7/16 in.)
     Technique: 3-ply cable, final twist "Z" (s3z); one rope has
     an overhand knot

Fragment E:              (image not available for online exhibit)
     Heavy Rope
     Diameter 15-20 mm (5/8-13/16 in.)
     Technique: Compound 3-ply cable, final twist "Z" (z3s3z)


Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (79-83)


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                            Leather

     The Judean Desert at the Qumran site has yielded a number of
leather objects which permit the study of ancient tanning
techniques. Water skins, large bags, pouches, purses, sandals,
and garments have been found in various desert sites.

     The majority of these leather objects are fashioned from
sheepskin; a few pieces, particularly those used as patches, are
of goatskin and calfskin.  These skins were tanned by using
vegetable matter, specifically tannic acid extracted from nuts
and pomegranates.


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                                   IMAGE FILE NAME:  sandal-A.gif
                                   IMAGE FILE NAME:  sandal-B.gif
Sandals
Leather
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.


     Shown here are sandal soles of the "soleae" style.  Intact
sandals of this type, dating from different centuries, were found
at Masada and in the Cave of Letters, all in the Dead Sea region.

     These soles are made of three layers of leather secured with
leather bindings.  Through slits situated near the heel, tabs
entered the upper sole.  The upper part of each tab was pierced
by two vertical slits through which the main strap was threaded.
The two ends of the main strap were then threaded into a slit on
the upper part of the sandal, near the toe, where they were tied,
holding the foot onto the sole.


Sandal A: length 22 cm (8 5/8 in.), width 6.8 cm (2 5/8 in.)
Sandal B: length 21 cm (8 1/4 in.), width 5.5 cm (2 1/8 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (88, 89)


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                             Stone

     Stone vessels, usually manufactured of malleable limestone,
were commonly found in the Jerusalem area in the late Second
Temple period. There are abundant examples in Qumran, in a
variety of shapes and sizes, which demonstrate expert
workmanship.

     The reason for the use of some of these vessels can be found
in Jewish ritual law (halakhah).  Stone, in contrast to pottery,
does not become ritually unclean (tamei). Jewish law maintains
that pottery vessels which have become ritually unclean must be
broken, never to be used again, whereas in similar circumstances
stone vessels retain their ritual purity and need not be
discarded (Mishnah. Kelim 10:11; Parah 3:2).

     Widespread use of these stone vessels is particularly
evident because of their discovery in the excavations of the
Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem.  Some of these vessels served the
same functions as ceramic vessels, and some had particular shapes
and functions.  Although the raw material is common in Jerusalem,
the cost of production was, no doubt, far greater than that of
pottery.  The flourishing manufacture of stone vessels came to an
end in the wake of the destruction of the Second Temple (70
C.E.).


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                                       IMAGE FILE NAME:  cups.gif
Measuring Cups
Limestone
First century C.E.


     Cylindrical cups of this type are frequently found in sites
of the Second Temple Period. It is believed that their capacities
correspond to the dry and liquid measures mentioned in the
Mishnah, a collection of rabbinic laws governing all aspects of
Jewish life.

     The surfaces of these vessels were pared with a knife or
adze, and their surface was left un-smoothed.  The vertical
handles rule out the possibility that they might have been
produced on a rotating lathe.


KhQ 1036, KhQ 1604
Cup (A): height 7.5 cm (3 in.), diameter 8 cm (3 1/8 in.)
Cup (B): height 12.8 cm (5 in.), diameter 19.4 cm (7 1/2 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (38,39)


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                                   IMAGE FILE NAME:  lggoblet.gif
Large Goblet
Limestone
First century C.E.


     This large goblet-shaped vessel was produced on a lathe,
probably in Jerusalem, and is extremely well crafted.  It is
surprising that an ancient lathe was capable of supporting and
working such a large and heavy stone block.  The vessel may shed
light on the shape of the "kallal," mentioned in the Talmudic
sources as a vessel for holding the purification ashes of the red
heifer (Mishnah Parah 3:3).


Height 72 cm (28 1/4 in.), diameter 38.5 cm (15 1/8 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (37)


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                             Coins


     In 1955, three intact ceramic vessels containing a total of
561 silver coins were found under a doorway at the Qumran
excavation site. The vessels were filled to the brim with coins
and their mouths were covered with palm-fiber stoppers.  Two out
of three of the hoard vessels are of a type otherwise unknown at
Qumran.  New members of the sect may have had to surrender their
worldly goods to the treasurer of the community. The vessels and
their contents then, would constitute the deposit of one or a
number of new adherents.  On the other hand it should be noted
that depositing coins at a building's foundation, often under
doorways, was a common practice in antiquity.


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                                   IMAGE FILE NAME:     coin1.gif
                                   IMAGE FILE NAME:     coin2.gif
                                   IMAGE FILE NAME:  coinhord.gif
The Qumran Hoard of Silver Coins
24 silver coins
Between 136/135 and 10/9 B.C.E.


     Pere Roland de Vaux, a mid twentieth-century excavator of
Qumran, relied heavily on coin evidence for his dating and
interpretations of the various strata of the site. The early
coins in the hoard were minted in Tyre and included tetradrachms
of Antiochus VII Sidetes and Demetrius II Nicator (136/135-
127/126 B.C.E.), as well as six Roman Republican denarii from the
mid-first century B.C.E. The bulk of the hoard represents the
autonomous continuation of the Seleucid mint: the well-known
series of Tyrian shekalim and half-shekalim, minted from 126/125
B.C.E. onward.  These are the same coins that were prescribed in
the Temple for the poll tax and other payments (Tosefta. Ketubot
13, 20).

Q2;Q3;Q5;Q6;Q8;Q19;Q20;Q21;Q27;Q32;Q65;Q79;Q84;Q87;
Q118;Q121;Q122;Q125;Q127;Q131;Q133;Q138;Q143;Q153
Diameter 3/4-1 1/8 in.
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (13-36)

References:
Meshorer, Y. Ancient Jewish Coinage. Dix Hills, N.Y., 1982.
Sharabani, M. "Monnaies de Qumran au Musee Rockefeller de
     Jerusalem," Revue Biblique 87 (1980): 274-84.

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deadsea.scrolls.exhibit                        rev. 6/18/93 (kde)