QUMRAN BIO- AND MATERIAL CULTURES

In 1997, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jan Gunneweg) and the Nuclear Reactor at the TU of Budapest (Marta Balla) started a cooperative research on the Provenance of Qumran pottery by neutron activation to learn with who the alleged "Essenes" have been in contact. Pottery is plentiful available and knowing where it was made and where it is found sheds light on human relations. Since 2000, Qumran textiles have been analyzed to identify their fibres and dyes, whereas C14 dating was applied to wood and textiles. On the other hand, Thermoluminescence dated pottery. Dyes were studied by HPLC, Raman spectroscpy and by FTIR at the ESRF Grenoble. DNA and parasitological studies of parchment take place in Jerusalem.

 
Early Spring photo of Qumran Building Complex on the right, gift shop and restaurant on the left and in the background the Dead Sea.
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The famous Cave 11 where John Allegro found the Copper scroll. View Image from inside cave to the Dead Sea.
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The Qumran cemetery that consists of several cemeteries.
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