Etudes d'anthropologie, de physique et de chimie
2004 XXVI-486 p. Fr. 230.-
ISBN 3-7278-1452-7

Jean-Baptiste Humbert / Jan Gunneweg Khirbet Qumrân et 'Aïn Feshkha II Etudes d'anthropologie, de physique et de chimie Collection: Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Series Archaeologica (NTOA SA), volume 3 While Volume I provided a report of the archaeological excavation and a list of the finds at Khirbet Qumran, Volume II seeks to clarify them by applying the latest scientific technologies. Scholars from different interdisciplinary fields have worked together, each in their own discipline, to provide answers concerning the provenance of Qumran's pottery in order to ascertain with whom the inhabitants were in contact. A classification of the textile remains, and an examination of their craftsmanship, have provided information about the communitarianand/or religious background of the people at Qumran. The deciphering of Qumran's graffiti, the majority of which is local in origin, is essential for comparing their writing to that found in the parchment and papyrus scrolls. Carbon dating of wood from a coffin and a date kernel has established the period in which the alleged Essenes may have lived and died - the latter once a source of contradiction. The by burial beads, which probably do not fit in the Essene context more. The study of the metal objects provides background for research on Roman metallurgy in this part of the world. Finally, the analysis of the mortar used for the water cisterns opens a new dimension in the study of the domestic activities at Qumran. It is hoped, furthermore, that after new hypotheses based on the archaeology of Qumran are formulated, the exegesis of the Dead Sea scrolls will be able to profit from these scientific results, thus shedding new light on the interpretation of the texts. XXVI-486 pages, relié, Fr. 230.– ISBN 3-7278-1452-7