Qumran Seminar: A material approach to the Qumran Quest

The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Qumran were all found in caves (both natural and man-made). However, when looking into the history of research, it appears that very little attention has been paid to the material context of the finds. The majority of scholars have focused on the content of the texts and the archaeological approach was focused on the ruins of the settlement. Thus, the caves have remained in the background.

However, the analysis of the material context can contribute to the debate surrounding some of the major questions tied to the study of the Scrolls: where did they come from? Who brought them to the caves and why? Is it possible to infer the context of use of the Scrolls? Having analysed the caves one by one in the past years, this year’s seminar is dedicated to the re-examination of all the natural caves where the manuscripts were found by employing a comparative approach on a regional scale.

Examining the material contexts in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found and proposing a convenient explanation for the deposition of the Scrolls in the natural caves of the Qumran area; promote a methodological reflection on the relationship between data, hypothesis, and interpretation.

In presence

Seminar sessions, group work on the contents of the seminar, and discussion. The seminar will be held in English.

Active participation and a written paper.