Qumran Archaeology‪.‬

In his new book, Professor Yizhar Hirschfeld of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Institute of Archaeology attempts to sum up systematically the accumulation of archaeological research relating to Khirbet Qumran. The work consists of five chapters. The first presents the history of research at Qumran. The second deals with the question of the origin of the scrolls, in particular whether they originated in Qumran or in Jerusalem. The third chapter is the central part of the book, in which Hirschfeld presents his own opinions on the archaeology of Qumran. The fourth chapter deals with the building excavated at Ein Feshkha, and the final chapter discusses the general picture of the settlements along the coast of the Dead Sea during the Second Temple period. Hirschfeld, it should be noted, has himself never excavated at Qumran. He has, however, excavated at Ein Feshkha and at Ein Gedi, where he uncovered a large Jewish village established during the Second Temple period. There is no doubt that he is well versed in the archaeology of the Dead Sea Valley during the Second Temple Period. However, as we will see consequently, he refrains from studying the nine hundred or so scrolls discovered in the caves adjacent to Qumran. His book contains many new ideas, which he presents as if they were facts. These original ideas are both the advantages and disadvantages of the book. In fact, it seems that the desire to be innovative has prevented Hirschfeld from objectively considering the data in its entirety.