Scrolls From the Dead Sea:
The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship

INTRODUCTION:
ARTIFACTS FROM THE QUMRAN SITE

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

Scroll Jar

Jar with Lid
Pottery
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.

Some of the scrolls found by Bedouin shepherds in 1947 were discovered in cylindrical pottery jars of this type, which are unknown elsewhere. Many authorities consider the discovery of these unique vessels in the Qumran excavations as well as in the caves, as convincing evidence of the link between the settlement and the caves. These jars, like the other pottery vessels recovered at Qumran, were probably manufactured locally.

KhQ 1474
Lid: Height 5 cm (2 in.), diameter 17.8 cm (7 in.)
Jar: Height 49.8 cm (19 1/2 in.), diameter 24 cm (9 3/8 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (57, 58)

Textiles

The textiles shown here are two out of scores of pieces collected together with scrolls and other objects from the floor of the Qumran Cave 1 in the spring of 1949. The textiles were examined at the H. M. Norfolk Flax Establishment in England, and the material was identified as linen. A total of seventy-seven pieces, plain and decorated, were cataloged and described by the renowned textile expert Grace M. Crowfoot.

It is possible that all of the cloths found at Qumran are linked with the scrolls. Some of them were certainly scroll wrappers; the remains of one scroll was found wrapped in a small square of linen. Other cloths, found folded into pads, may have formed a packing for worn-out scrolls inside the scroll jars. Still other pieces--with corners twisted or bound with linen cord--may have been used as protective covers, tied over the jar tops.

The wrapped scrolls may have been concealed in the cave at a time of national panic or simply buried, as was a common practice, when they wore out. The condition of the cloths would coincide with either suggestion.

Reference:

Crowfoot, G. M. "The Linen Textiles." In Qumran Cave I. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, I, pp. 18-38. Oxford, 1955.

Linen Cloth
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.

This cloth is cut along three sides, rolled and oversewn with a single thread; the fourth edge has a corded starting border in twining technique, followed by a woven strip and an open unwoven space. It was found folded into a pad and was probably used as packing material for discarded scrolls.

7Q, cloth 30
Length 35.5 cm (13 7/8 in.), width 24 cm (9 3/8 in.)
Counts: 14x14, 13x13, and in one place 16x14 threads per cm
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (76)

Reference:

Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, I, pp. 33-34. Oxford, 1955.

Linen Cloth
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.

The edges of this cloth are cut, rolled, and whipped on two opposite sides with single thread. On the other two sides, a double thread was used. Two corners are twisted, and the third has a piece of string knotting it, indicating that it was probably used as a cover for a scroll jar.

1Q, cloth 15
Length 29 cm (11 15/16 in.), width 25 cm (9 3/4 in.)
Counts: 17x13 threads per cm
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (75)

Reference:

Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, I, pp. 33-34. Oxford, 1955.

Leather Scroll Fastenings

Tabs
Thongs
First century B.C.E.-first century C.E.

Tabs and thongs like these may have been used to bind and secure individual scrolls. The fastening method is thought to consist of a slotted tab folded over the edge of the scroll (see "Prayer for King Jonathan" scroll fragment) with a thong inserted through the tab's slot. The thong then could be tied around the scroll. Fasteners were generally made of leather and were prepared in different sizes. The leather thongs may have also been used in the making of phylacteries.

Tabs:	length 1.7-2.7 cm (11/16 in.-1 1/16 in.), width 1.4-3.3 cm
	(9/16 in.-1 5/16 in.)
Thongs: length 7-30 cm (2 3/4 in.-11 3/4 in.), width 0.3-0.8 cm
	(1/8 in.-5/16 in.)
Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (90-100)

Reference:

Carswell, J. "Fastenings on the Qumran Manuscripts." In Qumran Grotte 4:II. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, VI, pp. 23- 28 and plates. Oxford, 1977.

 

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