Near Eastern plant domestication in the light of agronomic and ecological considerations
Shahal Abbo, Simcha Lev-Yadun, Avi Gopher
Shahal Abbo1*, Simcha Lev-Yadun2, Avi Gopher3
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: abbo@agri.huji.ac.il
1
The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, Faculty of Agricultural Food and Environmental Quality Sciences - Tel. 0894894432 Department of Science Education-Biology,Faculty of Science and Science Education,University of Haifa-Oranim, Tivon 36006,Israel3Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology,Tel-Aviv University,Ramat Aviv 69978, IsraelPhylogenetic analyses of a number of crop plants and their wild progenitors suggest that the geographical location of the founder stocks of the Near Eastern crops is in a specific region in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. This view is recently being challenged by a number of scholars who view Near Eastern plant domestication as geographically diffuse, with multiple domestication centres and multiple origins for several different crop plants. This paper examines the distribution of the wild progenitors and their ecological preferences, and provides field data to show the sympatric occurrence of the majority of the founder crop package in several locations across southeastern Turkey. The agronomic features of the founder crops are highlighted with special emphasis on their yield buffering capacity and nutritional complementarities. The combination of phytogeographic, agronomic and genetic data may help in reconstructing the processes underlying the emergence of Near Eastern agriculture.
First Neutron Activation Data on Christmas Cave Pottery Compared to Other Ceramics
Marta Balla* & Jan Gunneweg2E-mail: balla@reak.bme.hu
*University of Technology and Economics, Budapest 1521, Hungary; 2Archaeometry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
This is the first time in the Qumran research that INAA can determine with absolute certainty which types of pottery were locally produced at Qumran. The proof of provenance was initially based on typology, backed up by the chemical fingerprint of a pottery waster that was found in the clean-up dump of the kiln, East of the kiln in the building Complex of Qumran. The latter, however, could also have come from the time period when the site was in Hasmonean hands, since the form of the pot in the waster could not be established.
Last September 2009, however, we discovered a second waster in the storage rooms of the Rockefeller Museum, overseen by many archaeologists, including De Vaux himself, which is from the sectarian occupation level within the settlement. INAA showed that also this waster has the same composition as the previous one, as well as our entire group of pottery that we had shown to be local to Qumran on chemical and typological grounds (Gunneweg and Balla 2003; 2006).
By knowing the chemical fingerprint of Qumran, we now will be able to focus on pottery that has been excavated at Masada, Engedi, Jericho and the Kedron Wadi- based Christmas Cave.
Humbert, J-B and Gunneweg, J. 2003, Khirbet Qumran and 'Ain Feshkha Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Ecole biblique de Jerusalem; Studies in Anthropology, Physics and Chemistry, Volume II, Academic Press Fribourg, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Goettingen
Gunneweg, J., Greenblatt, C. and Adriaens, A. 2006, Bio and Material Cultures at Qumran, Papers from a Cost G8 Action Working Group Meeting held in Jerusalem, Fraunhofer IRB Verlag
Gunneweg, J., Adriaens, A. & Dik, J. 2010, Holistic Qumran: Trans-disciplinary research of Qumran and the Dead Sea scrolls, NIAS-Lorentz Center Meeting held in Leiden 2008, STD 87, Brill, Leiden-Boston
The impact of new molecular biological techniques on the study of the ancient DNA of Qumran
Gila Kahila Bar-Gal1*, Randall Price2, Tzviki Rosenberg1 and Charles L. Greenblatt3*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
bargal@agri.huji.ac.il
1
Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University, Rehovoth, Israel2
Center for Judaic Studies, Liberty University, Lynchburg Virginia, U.S.3
Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, IsraelThe Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and emusion PCR methods have recently been introduced into molecular biology. Applying these methods to ancient DNA (aDNA) samples has changed the face of this field of research. RT-PCR allows one to quantify the number of target molecules so one can determine the amount of DNA found in a specific gene in the sample. As a special byproduct it records minute changes in the melting behavior of the newly synthesized amplicons to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). The second method, emusion PCR, depends on a total amplification of any DNA in a specimen. Thus it detects the genes of the bone's "owner", as well as any disease agent, which infected it or the archaeologist who touched it. Amazingly, new computational tools can sort out all of these gene fragments and assign them to their appropriate origins.
Eight different RT-PCR's with High Resolution Melting assay (HRM) were designed to identify four candidate animal species (goat, ibex, sheep and cattle) and differentiate between sheep and goat breeds. The assays were conducted on modern well-defined blood samples. The results of the modern samples were used as a database for the study of flocks from Qumran. Bone remains from Qumran that were morphologicaly identified as sheep/goat were sampled and tested using RT-PCR high resolution melting (HRM) assay. Melting curves confirmed the species to whom the bone belong. We were not able to determine the flock profile, as only partial assays were successful.
Mostly for reasons of cost, we have applied emulsion PCR only to ancient samples infected with tuberculosis. In this way, some 60% of the genome of the ancient tuberculosis bacillus has been elucidated. Hopefully, we will in the future be able to apply the method to Qumran samples. This kind of knowledge may shed light on ancient animal domestication, zoonotic diseases, and human migration.
Paleoenvironment, formation processes and dating of Qumran caves
Amos FrumkinE-mail: msamos@mscc.huji.ac.il
Cave Research Unit, Geography Department, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Qumran caves are classified into three types:
1) natural caves in hard rocks of the Dead Sea escarpment
These caves have been formed initially by hypogenic karst dissolution under the water table prior to the latest subsidence of the Dead Sea basin. They have been breeched and exposed by tectonics and erosion of the Dead Sea escarpment. They have been modified by collapse, shattering (due to tectonic stress, salt accumulation and temperature variation), sediment deposition, lake water, and human action. Burial dating of sediments in associated caves by cosmogenic isotopes (Al-26, Be-10) indicate deposition since 3 Ma associated with early stages of the Dead Sea topographic low. Within Qumran caves, Th-U dates of stromatolites show inundation of the caves by Lake Lisan 70-15 ka. Later, C-14 dates of organic material shows that the lake has receded from the caves prior to 12 Ka, followed by human habitation since the Natufian period. The old age and relative stability in some of these caves provided shelter for some of the best preserved scrolls.
2 ) natural caves in the Lisan terrace
Since the recession of lake Lisan and further down-faulting of the Dead Sea basin, small ephemeral streams have carved caves in the Lisan terrace. This cave formation process, termed piping, has disintegrated the unconsolidated sediments (composed of aragonite, silt and gypsum) by mechanical erosion and dissolution, creating subsurface channels. These were later used by humans associated with Qumran. The flow of ephemeral runoff through these caves has damaged the archaeological remains.
3) artificial caves in the Lisan terrace
Close to the Qumran site, several caves were man-made within the soft Lisan terrace. These are relatively unstable and some have been destroyed by erosion and collapse. Scrolls in some of these caves (particularly 4Q) are numerous but damaged.
Moving Across the Qumran Landscape: The Roads, Paths and Rocky Passes of the North-Western Dead Sea Region
Shimon Gibson1* and Joan E. Taylor2*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: shimgib@yahoo.com
1 Center for Heritage Conservation, Texas A&M University
2
King's College, London, UKSince the excavations conducted by de Vaux at Qumran in the 1950s, the site has been the focus of considerable research by many investigators, but, strangely, the site's immediate setting and features of its regional landscape have hardly been studied. While there is constant debate regarding the function and dating of the different periods of settlement represented at Qumran and the identity of those living there, the lecturers turned their attention to the exploration of the archaeological morphology of the landscape beyond the perimeter of the settlement and began examining the character of access routes (roads, paths) running from Qumran to the north and south, parallel with the north-western shore of the Dead Sea. They also climbed the northern pass extension of the main pass leading westwards up the rocky slope towards the Buqe'ah Plateau. The investigation of the Qumran pass - with its two arms leading up from the Qumran plateau - proved that it might have been negotiable by hardy individuals in ancient (and modern) times, but that it was definitely not a viable trade route. The lecturers also reached the conclusion that the routes in the Qumran region were first established in the Late Iron Age and were re-used in the Late Hellenistic (Hasmonean) and Early Roman periods without any significant development. Qumran was undoubtedly situated on a path extending all the way between Jericho and Ein Gedi, as Roi Porat already pointed out in an earlier study, but the fact that this route was not developed as a highway but remained a path means Qumran was actually somewhat isolated in antiquity. In the first century C.E. there was an important boat link between Rujm el-Bahr (serving Jericho) and Ein Gedi, and this route was much more significant we believe than the overland route passing Qumran .
The Vision of Gabriel stele
Yuval Goren
Email: ygoren@post.tau.ac.il
Laboratory for Comparative Microarchaeology, Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
A limestone stele bearing a Hebrew inscription in black pigment has been subjected to laboratory examination. The stele originated in the antiquities market and its provenance is unknown. It bears a text of an apocalypse transmitted by the angel Gabriel, hence the stele was nicknamed "the Vision of Gabriel". Based on its linguistic features, they date the text, written in Hebrew on stone, to the late first century BCE. The present study attempted to investigate the possible provenance of the stele through micro-archaeological examination of the rock coatings and the sediment attached, which are presumably derived from its location of discovery. The results of the study point to a possible origin east of the Dead Sea.
The elemental chemical fingerprint of parchment and ink by neutron activation that can perhaps tell us what kind of recipe was adopted to manufacture parchment and ink vis-à-vis the Dead Sea scrolls
Jan Gunneweg1* and Marta Balla2*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: Jan.gunneweg@huji.ac.il
1 Archaeometry, Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University, Scopus 91905, Israel
2
University of Technology and Economics, Budapest 1521, HungaryEvery single artifact that was recovered from each of the three units at Qumran—the caves, the settlement and the cemetery, has undergone a 2000 year long outdoor environment condition before it was stored or exhibited in one of many places it stayed, such as, Kando’s shop, the Amman, Rockefeller, Shrine of the Book, Ecole Biblique and IAA museums and have passed through hands of Bedouin, scholars and curators alike before it now finally got its, hopefully, final rest place.
Each of these handlers and places have added something to the deterioration of relics such as pottery, parchment, papyrus, glass, metal and organic stuff, some of which is irreversible.
The past two decades saw tens of congresses and meetings to save these relics as long as possible and in a good state, repairing what is possible to restore and to store it under optimal environmental conditions of relative humidity, free from bacterial and fungal attacks and light exposure.
Nonetheless, before these artifacts reached the museums and storage places, all were 2000 years in harsh environments, especially those near to the Dead Sea.
Deterioration starts with the manufacture of an artifact, its use through its final abandonment.
In this paper we will focus on the elemental chemical fingerprint of parchment and ink by neutron activation that can perhaps tell us what kind of recipe was adopted to manufacture parchment and ink needed for a manuscript in the Judean Desert. For that purpose, one needs quantitative analyses resulting in the abundances of the chemical elements that are present in an artifact so that one can compare it with additional parchments and ink prepared according to different recipes in the 2nd Temple Period of 250 BC-AD 70 and recent ones.
The elemental composition of Dead Sea mud and water as the starting point of outdoor environmental conditions that may serve in studying the degradation of artifacts from the Dead Sea area.
Jan Gunneweg1* and Marta Balla2*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: Jan.gunneweg@huji.ac.il
1Archaeometry/Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Scopus 91905, Israel
2
University of Technology and Economics, Budapest 1521, Hungary
Dead Sea mud is famous for its therapeutic properties to the human skin. It is also an important component in understanding the ecological background in which artifacts have been physically buried for millennia. In this specific case, the Judean Desert scrolls, usually dubbed the Dead Sea scrolls, have been more than 2000 years in this harsh environment.
In order to understand the ecology of the Dead Sea area, one has to have an idea of the chemical composition of Dead Sea water and mud, both ingredients intrinsically related because they are found together. The hazy air above the Dead Sea is greatly influenced by what the Dead Sea gives off and this can be disastrous for organic material that has withstand two millennia until it has been exhibited in various museums.
In order to establish a chemical fingerprint of the Dead Sea, one needs instrumental neutron activation analysis (hereafter INAA) since this is one of the few nuclear techniques that can provide a quantitative elemental composition that, in turn, is needed to build a database with numbers that can be compared to other databases with similar elemental analyses, after the laboratories have been inter-calibrated. INAA has been proven excellent in pottery, obsidian and umber studies since it was put on the map in 1969 by Perlman and Asaro
In this lecture, we show the new results as they were recently obtained by the nuclear facility at Budapest
Parasitological examinations of combs from Qumran
Kosta Y. Mumcuoglu
E-mail: kostam@cc.huji.ac.il
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
The head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, is most probably one of the oldest ectoparasites of man. From Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian and Biblical sources, it is evident that the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East were well acquainted with head lice. Lice are mentioned in the Bible as the 3rd plague visited on the Egyptians, while the Talmud distinguishes between lice of the head and those of the body. Approximately 9,000 year-old head louse eggs were found from hair samples of an individual who lived in Nahal Hemar Cave near the Dead Sea. Fine-toothed combs (also known as louse combs) have been used for over 3,500 years for the mechanical control of head lice. Head lice and their eggs were also found in combs recovered from archaeological excavations in the Judean and Negev deserts. Two of them dated from 68 AD were from Qumran, made from boxwood and had teeth from both sides: the teeth of one side were larger and less dense and were used to open the knots, while on the other side they were thinner and more dense and used to remove lice and eggs. One of the combs from Qumran contained 12 eggs while the second 12 lice and 27 eggs. Examination and grooming to remove lice from the head of an infested individual was practically always a social interaction between mother and child. Therefore, I hypothesize that Essenians were either living together or had a close contact with women and children.
Volatiles as valuable information of parchment condition
Irena Kralj CigicI , Ira Rabin2*, Jana Kolar3, Matija Strlič4* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: rabin@fhi-berlin.mpg.de
1University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Slovenia
2
Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, Germany,3
Morana RTD d.o.o., Ivančna Gorica, Slovenia4
Centre for Sustainable Heritage, University College of London, United KingdomLeather or parchment serve as writing media for many Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) manuscripts. It is natural material, produced from different animal's skin. Therefore it is very inhomogeneous and complex, predominantly collagenous material. As a result of production process salts, tannins and some remaining lipids could be present. Due to historical importance of the DSS they are exhibited and sometimes stored in sealed cases, i.e. subjected to a microenvironment.
As previous studies on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by paper shows that volatiles reveal important information on the quality of the material and its degradation [1], similar studies were performed on parchment. On the other hand, adsorbed volatiles have a pronounced deleterious effect on the rate of organics materials degradation.
In our investigation of VOC emissions, performed using new, aged and treated parchment, we used solid phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Using this technique qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of VOC was performed. The majority of VOCs emitted from the examined historical and modern parchments represent acyclic aliphatic aldehydes with carbon chains of different length (C4-C9). Their presence can be explained as a consequence of lipid autooxidation [2]. From medieval parchment less volatiles were emitted than from modern one. The reasons could be different parchment preparation and consequently parchment composition or the age of parchment as majority of lipids is already oxidized. Additionally more volatile aldehydes were emitted from parchment, treated with British Museum leather dressing (mixture of lanolin, cedar oil, beeswax and hexane) and castor oil as some unsaturated lipids are present due to treatment itself.
The presence of volatile aldehydes and peroxides [2], which are both products of lipid autoxidation, can act as oxidation initiators. Described process in parchment can result in collagen bond cleveage and consequently in destruction of collagen structure. As presented investigation show elevated concentration of aldehydes in the case of treated parchments, preservation treatments should be carefully selected.
Elevated concentrations of volatiles were detected in the frames of selected Dead Sea Scrolls untreated with oils previously. Since alkanes and alcohols predominantly found in these frames are relatively inert it cannot be concluded with certainty that they have a pro-degrading effect. It would be of great importance to test the microenvironment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which have been experienced oil and other interventive treatments pro-degrading effect. It would be of great importance to test the microenvironment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which have been experienced oil and other interventive treatments.
[1] M. Strlič, I. Kralj Cigić, J. Kolar, G. De Bruin, B. Pihlar. Non-destructive evaluation of historical paper based on pH estimation from VOC emissions. Sensors, 2007, vol. 7, iss. 12, pp. 3136-3145.
[2] M. Strlič, I. Kralj Cigić, I. Rabin, J. Kolar, B. Pihlar, M. Cassar. Autoxidation of lipids in parchment. Polym. degrad. stab., 2009, vol. 94, iss. 6, pp. 886-890.
Plant fibre textiles from the Dead Sea region in the light of synchrotron radiation: Fibre identification and ageing under archaeological conditions
Martin Müller1*, Bridget Murphy2, Manfred Burghammer3, Christian Riekel3, Emmanuel Pantos4, Jan Gunneweg5* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: Martin.Mueller@gkss.de
1
GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, Max-Planck-Str. 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany2
Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel,Leibnizstr. 19, 24098 Kiel, Germany
3
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, B.P. 220, 38043 Grenoble Cedex, France4
CCLRC, Daresbury Laboratory, Keckwick Lane, Warrington WA4 4AD, UK5
Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, 91905 Jerusalem, Israel
Archaeological plant textile fibres from caves in the Dead Sea region (Qumran, Cave of Letters and Christmas Cave) were investigated using synchrotron X-ray micro-diffraction and micro-fluorescence. Single fibres of only a few micrometres in diameter were sufficient to reliably identify the fibre type (such as linen, cotton or unprocessed plant material), independent of surface degradation or encrustations hindering traditional microscopic analysis.
The degradation of the up to 2100 year old fibres was found to strongly depend on the climatic conditions at the place of storage. The size and the lattice parameters of the cellulose nanocrystals in the fibres change upon degradation; these parameters are shown to be strongly correlated, leading to a microscopic description of the degradation process in terms of molecular disorder. Artificial ageing does not seem to reproduce the effects observed here for the first time on archaeological cellulose fibres.
Investigating the Internal Structure and Chemistry of a Dead Sea Scroll Parchment Fragment with Ink using Synchrotron X-ray Micro-beam Techniques
Bridget Murphy
E-mail: murphy@physik.uni-kiel.de
Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Leibnizstr.19, 24098 Kiel, Germany
For the 2000 year old Dead Sea Scrolls parchment degradation and conservation are key issues. Since the find, the scrolls have rapidly become more brittle and difficult to read. However, the mechanism of the degradation processes is still not understood. Using complementary synchrotron-based X-ray micro-beam techniques ancient parchment is compared with modern. Micro X-ray fluorescence and infra-red spectroscopy show that the tanning or liming procedure provides an effective protective layer for the scrolls and that it is likely that the ink and binder in turn act as a fixer for the protective Ca layer. Synchrotron-based computed micro-tomography visualisation of ancient fragments similarly indicates that delamination originates in the centre of the parchment and not at the outside as originally expected. In the degraded region a strong signal from the protein amide 1 band observed with infra-red spectroscopy showing that despite the disentanglement the collagen fibre matrix is well preserved.
Quantitative Hyperspectral Imaging of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Roberto Padoan1*, Marvin E. Klein2, Ira Rabin3, Gerrit de Bruin1, Ted A. G. Steemers1* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: roberto.padoan@nationaalarchief.nl
1 Nationaal Archief, Postbus 90520 - 2509 LM The Hague, The Netherlands, Phone: +310615440041
2
Art Innovation BV, Zutphenstraat 25, 7575 EJ Oldenzaal, The Netherlands, E-mail: info@art-innovation.nl; Phone: +31 541 570720; web: www.art-innovation.nl3
BAM Federal Institute for Material Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 44-46, Berlin 12203, Germany
Quantitative hyperspectral imaging is a non-destructive optical analysis technique that has only in recent years become available for the study of historic documents. A hyperspectral measurement provides a huge amount of image-like numerical data to which mathematical processing can be applied to extract and visualise information not accessible by direct viewing, conventional photography or single spot measurements.
As opposed to a mere qualitative comparison of different spectral images, the numerical data contained in hyperspectral datacubes can be used to compare optical properties of a document in a quantitative way. A great advantage of calibrated quantitative hyperspectral datacubes is the direct recording, in a digital format, of the complete information set (spectral and spatial) collected by the instrument. This data can be easily re-used during future research with different regions-of-interests, or to investigate entirely different questions, without the necessity to expose the original document again to the stress of a new measurement.
Within the COST-42 action a series of hyperspectral recordings were performed at the Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands) and the Forensic Institute of the Netherlands on some fragments of the Death Sea Scrolls, with the scope to verify whether hyperspectral imaging could be used as a classification and monitoring tool for the characterization and condition assessment of these artefacts. This contribution will address the obtained results and prospective use of this technique for historical research and long term preservation.
A Preliminary Study of the Use of the Southern Agricultural terrace at Qumran and Subseqent Function for the Burial of Sacred Meals
Stephen Pfann, Ph.D.
University of the Holy Land, E-mail: pfann@netvision.net.il
A curiously constructed wall running southward from the site of Qumran has been previously interpreted as a simple enclosure wall. However a more careful study of the east and west faces of the wall reveal that lower courses of the wall formed the revetment of the face of an agricultural terrace. The upper layer of the soils of the terrace were imported evidently to provide a soil which was more fertile and less saline for growing crops. Subsequently the terrace wall was surmounted by at least five addition courses of stone to form an enclosure wall which barred access to the terrace which served to contain the left over bones, food stuffs and pottery from sacred meals were buried. The burials have proven to be an important witness to the floral and faunal components of those meals.
The Use of Skin Hair Follicles in the Reconstruction of Dead Sea Scrolls
Stephen Pfann, Ph.D.
E-mail: pfann@netvision.net.il
University of the Holy Land, Jerusalem
While I was working on the scrolls of Daniel for my first dissertation topic, carried out under Prof. Moshe Goshen Gottstein, I utilized a microscope to check the ink on the surface of a number of fragments from 4QDana–d. In doing so, I was surprised when I noticed that the hair follicles on the skin surfaces remained intact on all of the manuscripts. The follicles appeared as almond shaped depressions, lacking the hairs which once protruded from them. Some were more pronounced than others, depending largely upon the state of preservation of the aging skin. I noticed at the time that the follicles were arranged in patterns and on rare occasion a hair was found still protruding from the original follicles. John Strugnell, who was Editor-in-Chief at the time, said that J. T. Milik and he had noticed these skin surface structures (seemed to them like grain on leather surfaces) but did not find any use for them at the time.
The size and form of individual hair follicles can help to identify both the species and the identity of the skin of a specific animal. The patterns and directions of clusters of hair follicles have proven to aid in the placement of scattered scroll fragments into a credible reconstruction parchment manuscripts which are fragmentary and only partially preserved. A study of the follicles can help to discern the history of preparation and the subsequent use and deterioration of the abundant manuscripts that have been found along the coast of the Dead Sea and elsewhere.
These are but a few of many successful applications of Hair Follicle Analysis toward reconstructing Dead Sea Scrolls. It has also been useful for distinguishing fragments of additional unidentified manuscripts which may have been written by the same scribe (or another scribe with a similar writing hand) on another occasion. The work in this field has been initiated by happenstance and has continued only selectively, but often with surprising results. This study will be complete only when the some 1,000 identified manuscripts are scrutinized with the aid state-of-the-art technologies. This database of images and data can be made available for others to study who do not have ready access to the scrolls themselves. Presently, as time proceeds and the scrolls age, as quick or slow as that process might be, the surfaces and surface structures of the parchments are in the process of flattening, darkening, shrinking and cracking. The time to do this comprehensive study is now since the scrolls are are not getting any younger, so that every scientist, scholar and lay person can appreciate the scrolls in their present state for many generations to come.
On the age and content of Jar-35 – an intact storage jar found on the southern plateau at Qumran
Kaare L. Rasmussen1, Jan Gunneweg2, Johannes van der Plicht3, Irena Kralj Cigić4, A.D. Bond5, Bo Svensmark6, Marta Balla7, Matija Strlic8, and Gregory Doudna9
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: klr@ifk.sdu.dk
1Institute of Physics and Chemistry, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark
2
Archaeometry, Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem3
Isotope Onderzoek, Groningen University4
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Slovenia6
University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
7
University of Technology and Economics, Budapest 1521, Hungary8
Centre for Sustainable Heritage, University College of London, United Kingdom9
1700 Marion Street, Clearwater, Florida 33756, USA
An intact and sealed storage jar known as Jar-35 was found in 2004 south of the Qumran settlement. The jar was empty except for a whitish deposit stuck to the bottom and sides of the jar and containing a few specks of charcoal. In 2006 a team investigated the deposit and found that it contained tartrates and that the jar therefore originally contained wine.
The present international team has now re-investigated the content and dated the jar by radiocarbon and thermoluminescence. However, we cannot confirm the findings of the 2006 investigation.
Using liquid and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection, no trace of tartaric acid or salts thereof could be detected in our samples. We show that the major component of the deposit is gypsum. The presentation will describe the results and present some interpretations.
Chemical composition of the Temple scroll 11QTa
Ira Rabin1*, Roman Schütz2, Admir Masic 2, Oliver Hahn1, Emanuel Kindzorra1, Timo Wolff1, Francisca Emmerling1, Ulrich Schade3, Gisela Weinberg4, Peter Lasch5
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: rabin@fhi-berlin.mpg.de
1
Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Unter den Eichen 44- 46,12205 Berlin (Germany)2
Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam- Golm (Germany)3
BESSY, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany)4
Fritz-Haber-Institute der MPG, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin (Germany)5
Robert Koch Institute, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin (Germany)
The Temple Scroll is one of the most beautiful items belonging to the famous Dead Sea Scrolls collection. It is written on a light coloured parchment that measures 8.148 cm long and hardly exceeds 0.1 millimetres in thickness.
Palaeographic studies revealed that the Scroll consisted of two parts dating from different eras: the larger part of the Scroll dates to the middle of the 1st century BCE, whereas the smaller part, which was probably applied as an antique repair sheet, is supposed to have been adhered and copied in the middle of the 1st century CE.
Figure 1: Column LII (left) dates to the middle of the 1st century BCE and column IV (right) was probably applied as an antique repair sheet in the middle of the 1st century CE.
Allegedly, Bedouins discovered the Temple Scroll in 1956 wrapped in a cloth and deposited in a clay jar in Qumran cave 11. When scholars finally accessed the Scroll in 1967 it was severely damaged by humidity.
The results of the analytical study of the surface of both parts of the scroll conducted recently by means of SEM/EDX, µ-XRF, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy show that the larger part of the scroll has been tawed with alum. Whereas little sulphate salts could be detected in the repair sheet, it was found that a mixture of chalk and gypsum has been applied to its surface.
Clothing at Christmas Cave v-a-v Qumran Textiles
Orit Shamir* and Na’ama Sukenik
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: orit12@israntique.org.il
Israel Antiquities Authority
The Christmas Cave Textiles
Among the textiles at the Rockefeller Museum there was a large group marked as QCC – Qumran Christmas Cave, which are not typical to Qumran. Most of them are made of wool, and some were dyed or decorated with bands or gamma-shaped design in a broad rainbow of colors including: red, purple, black, blue and green.
The Christmas Cave is located in the lower Kidron valley, and Allegro discovered it on Christmas day in 1960. Although the findings clearly show that the cave served during the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the textiles were sent to the Rockefeller Museum and registered together with findings from the Qumran Caves.
In 2007 the cave was surveyed again by Porat, Eshel, and Frumkin. They realized that the findings are not connected to the Qumran Caves and that the human activity in the cave began in the Chalcolithic Period, and continued as as a hiding place for refugees at the end of the Great Revolt and again in the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 135.
Qumran
These new findings and conclusions make a significant contribution to the study of the Qumran textiles. It can now be determined that all the textiles from Qumran are made of linen and not wool, or any other material. Moreover, in most cases the Qumran textiles were free of any colored embellishment that characterized decorations during the Hellenistic-Roman Period.
This opposed the finding from other sites. Thousands textiles from the Roman period discovered in Israel were examined so far, and 35% are linen, the other materials are wool, goat hair and camel hair. The textile assemblage tells also about the apparel of the inhabitants of Qumran. Presumably some of the textiles that were discovered at the Qumran site were cut out from worn-out articles of clothing and were reused for a secondary purpose, such as to protect scrolls and cover pots. The archaeological and textile find are compatible, showing that the inhabitants of Qumran wished to separate themselves from the Jewish population not only spiritually, but also in their style of dress. This supports the view that the Qumranites were sectarian, possessing a distinctive style of dress shared by members of the sect.
The Qumran inhabitants wore only undyed linen garments – which they considered to be pure and holy. This is indicative of the anti-Roman culture attitude of the Sectarians. As the dyed wool clavi (the bands that decorated the tunic, descending from the shoulders) indicated the wearer’s rank in society, the sectarian adoption of all-white clothing suggests a rejection of this culture.
Dead Sea Scrolls Digitization Project
Pnina Shor
E-mail: pnina@israntique.org.il
Israel Antiquities Authority
The removal of the fragile scrolls from the caves in which they had been preserved for over 2,000 years interrupted the environmental stability that had ensured their preservation for so long. Since their discovery, the scrolls were damaged by ravages of time, as well as previous handling and treatment. In 1991 the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), established a dedicated Dead Sea Scrolls conservation laboratory. The task of the conservation and preservation of the scrolls continues to be an ongoing project
The thousands of fragments were photographed in their entirety only once, in the 1950s. Scholarly research and publication are largely based on these infra-red (IR) photographs, although the images represent the condition of the scrolls some fifty years ago, even the best of them relies on photographic technology that has since improved significantly. Moreover, some of the negatives of these photographs have disintegrated.
Since its foundation, the IAA DSS Conservation Laboratory has limited photography to essential documentation and specific requests for images related to research and publication. Thus, there is a gap in the detailed image information available to scholars, as well as a lack of an active image record that can be used to assist in conservation efforts.
The IAA initiated the digitization project both to monitor the well-being of the scrolls, and to expand access to scholars and the public worldwide, while preventing further damage from physical exposure.
The digitization of the Dead Sea Scrolls will sustain their conservation and preservation by creating high-quality images in Color, Infrared, and Spectral Imaging. These will support and provide active conservation assessments, non-invasive testing and monitoring tools, and a better record and documentation of the physical state of the Scrolls.
Digitization will support scholarship by creating and delivering the highest quality images of the DSS, by providing interactive tools within a supportive research framework, and the integration of scholarly resources.
Analysis of remnant date palm material out of an amphora near 2.000 years old Dead Sea scrolls, found in Qumram
Bob Ursem1* and Wolfgang Gard2
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
W.N.J.Ursem@tudelft.nl1
Botanic Garden Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences W.N.J.Ursem@TUDelft.nl2
Department of Timber Structures and Wood Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences TU Delft Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC Delft, The Netherlands
The primary question was: Could the filling of an amphora been used to make soap? If so, the remnant material of the content of the amphora need to have traces of sodium or/and potassium, because sodium or potassium with fat of goats or sheep creates soap. However, date palms had to grow on sodium or potassium rich soils in order to build in these components in the wood structure or seed structures.
We analyzed the structure of the remnant material to investigate if we deal with wood or seed structures. Moreover, a chemical analysis is applied of an infra red spectroscopy to trace characteristic organic components and a structural analysis, combined with an element analysis, has been carried out to investigate the aggregates.
The result proves that the 2000 year old material is indeed a seed and not a wood structure of the date palm, because the recognized structure doesn't match with date palm wood structures. Wood structures of date palm consists xylem and phloem, which is lacking in the investigated material. Furthermore we discovered collapsed cell structures with thick cell walls.
The element analysis on aggregates of the 2000 years old material shows clearly a high amount of calcium, aluminium, a few traces of halogens bromine and no sodium or potassium at all.
Image of investigated 2000 year old material of Qumran amphora
Difficulties of Reading and Philological Restoration of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Alexey E. Yuditsky1* and Chanan Ariel1
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: yudickya@gmail.com
1
Academy of the Hebrew Language, Jerusalem
This presentation will describe various difficulties encountered while attempting to reveal textual evidence of in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Issues such as parchment fading, blackening, and deterioration will be raised, emphasizing the importance of photographing the Scrolls using new technologically advanced equipment.
In addition, cases of the problematic attribution of fragments to their appropriate scrolls, such as 4Q385 (PseudoEzekiel) and 4Q385a (Apocryphon of Jeremiah), will be discussed.
Examples of successful restoration of the text as a result of minor reading improvements will also be presented.