Qumran: Wooden Artifacts

Wooden artifacts are rare finds in the material culture of the ancient Near East, and few specimens from the Roman period have survived. Because of unusually arid climatic conditions at Qumran, however, many wooden objects were retrieved including bowls, boxes, mirror frames, and combs. Their fine state of preservation facilitates the study of ancient woodworking techniques.

Similar to most ancient combs, these combs are two-sided. One side has closely-spaced teeth for straightening the hair, and the other side provides even more teeth for delousing the scalp. Both combs are fashioned from boxwood.

This deep bowl has a flat base, expertly turned on a lathe. Several concentric circles are incised in its base, and the rim of the bowl is rounded. Most wooden objects found in the Qumran area are of "acacia tortilis," a tree prevalent in the southern wadis "valleys" of Israel.

Fragments of the Temple Scroll

Credit: The Israel Museum, Jerusalum

Parts of the Temple Scroll are poorly preserved.

The Temple Scroll

Credit: The Israel Museum, Jerusalum The Temple scroll is the thinnest of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Discovered in 1956, it contains God's instructions on how to run the Temple.

The Great Isaiah Scroll

 Credit: The Israel Museum, Jerusalum  The Great Isaiah Scroll is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947. It is the best preserved of the scrolls, and is nearly complete. At the Israel Museum's website, mousing over the Great Isaiah Scroll provides an English translation of the text.

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QUMRAN PHYLACTERY CASES

Phylactery A case is constructed of two pieces of stitched leather. It contains four chambers and each compartment can hold a minute slip containing a prayer. Meant to be worn on the arm, phylactery case B has only one compartment. It is formed of a single piece of leather folded in two, with one half deeply stamped out to contain a tiny inscribed slip. A fine leather thong was inserted at the middle, and the halves were folded over and stitched together.

LAYOUT OF PHYLACTERY CASES IN COMPUTER IMAGE

               C         D         B

                    A         E

Reference
    Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, I, p.7. Oxford, 1955.

Photo Gallery: Qumran - Bedouin showing buried jar

(P. Pennarts, 31 December 1953) The same Bedouin is showing Leo Boer (left) and Jan Glissenaar (right) the mouth of a jar buried in the rubble. Exact location is unknown.

This photo belongs to The Palestine Exploration Fund

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Leather Scroll Fasteners Found at Qumran

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.

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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