Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching (Archaeology and Biblical Studies)

170 BI:.'WEENTEXTANDARnFACf

interpretationofKhirbetQumran.Themostimportantconcernthevalidity
ofPeriodla,thedateoftheendofPeriodIb,thelengthoftheperiodof
abandonment,theinterpretalionofthecemetery,andthelanguagethatde
Vaux usedtodescribethesite.ConcerningPeriod la,bothDaviesand
MagnesshavenotedthatdeVaux'sownreportofthedata(primarilycoins)
showsnoconcreteevidencefora reseulementearlierthantheearlyfirst
centuryB.C.E.(thatis,Alexanderjannaeus'sreign),andtheyconsequently
rejecttheideaofa Periodlaaltogether. 16 Daviessuggeststhatthepositing
ofPeriodlawasacaseofpushingthelimitsofthematerialevidence(as
farasthemiddleofthesecondcenturyB.C.E.)toaccommodatetheoriesof
thehistoryofthesectbasedontextsoftheDeadSeaScrolls,namely,that
thissettlementwasfoundedoutofa persecutionbyeitheroftheHas-
moneansJonathanorSimon.Thisassumesthatthelitemrydescriptionsof
thehistoryofthesectcanbereadashistoricaldataandrelatedtotheset-
tlementatQumran.If,instead,thescrollsaretreatedasartifactsmtherthan
merelyastexts, theirdating(based onpaleographyandsupportedby
recentradiocarbontests)pointstoroughlythesameperiodofactivityas
thecoins.l7Thegreatestbodyofmanuscriptsdatefromthefirstcentury
B.C.E.,andthesectariandocumentsrangeindatefromtheruleofJannaeus
tothetimeofHerod'sreign.ISThatis,"thisworksuggeststhatthegroup
thatcopiedthesedocumentswasactivethroughoutthefirstcenturyB.C.E.
<lndperh'lpsintothefirstcenturyC.E.,<lndcouldhe<lssnciMedwithKh
QUffif'dn'SPeriod1b-I1."19
Numerousscholarshavealso questioned theconnection de Vaux
acceptedbetweentheearthquakeandthefirethatdestroyedthecommu-
nityattheendofPeriodI: Whywouldanearthquakecauseagroupto
abandontheirsettlementcompletely,andthen why wouldtheycome
back 10 thesameplaceafterthirtyyears?Magnesshaspresentedthemost
plausiblechronology,whichpayscarefulattentiontothecoinandpottery
evidence.^20 Onthegroundsthathoardsareusuallylostbecausetheyare

16 JodiMagness,"QumranArchaeology:PastPerspectivesandFutureProspects,"inThe
DeadSeaSeroUsajlerFijlyYca~:AComprebellsilJl.'Assessment(ed.P.w. FlintandJ.C.
VanderKam;Leiden:Brill,\998),1:64-65;PhilipR.Davies,"HowNottoDoArchaeology:11le
StoryofQumran,·BA5(1988):204-5.
17GeorgesBonanietaI., -RadiocarOOnD~ltingoftheDC;ldseaScrolls,"Aliq6t 20
(1991):27-32,GregDoudna,"DatingtheScrollsontheBasisofRadiOC:lrOOnAnalysis,"in
FlintandV:l.nderKam.DeadSeaScrollsajlerFijlyI'eon,\:430-71.
18 1'.R.Call:lway,tbeHistoryoflheQllmrmlCommllnity:AlllrwesligationOSPSup3:
Sheffield:J:)()TPress,1988),199-200.
19 JohnR.Bartlett.··111CArchaeologyofQumran."inArcbaeolo8)'filldBihlicallmerpre-
It/lion(cd.J.ItBartlett:London:Routledge,1997),82-83.
20 Magness,"QumranArchaeology,"\:57-61;idem.ArcbaeologyqQlImrml,63-69.