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

174 BE1WEENTEXTANDARnFACf

maynOIbeestablishedonthebasisofthecemetery, butseveralobserva^4
lionsarenotcwonhy.(1)Thereisagreatertendencytotreatthecemetery
asawholeandtoavoidprejudiciallanguagesuchas"extensions"and"sec·
ondary."(2)Onthebasisofnewexcavations,EshclandBroshinowargue
thata buildingattheeasternedgeoftheMiddleFingerwasamourning
enclosure,33Contrarytopreviousassumptionsthatthewesternsectorwas
themostimponantpanofthecemeteryfortheQumrancommunityand
thatthe"extensions"totheeastweremerely"secondary"anclforolltsiders
orthoseoflesserslarus,thisconclusionwouldsuggestthattheeasternpan
ofthecemeterycouldbethemostimpollant,andatleasttheMiddleFinger
forpersonsofhigheststatus.(3)Someoftheskeletonshavebeenresexed;
therearenowtwoskeletonsfromthe"main"cemeteryclassifiedasfemale
('1'22,T24b),bothorientedsouth-north,aswellastenfurtherfemaleskele-
tonsfromotherseCLOrsofthecemetery.ThisrepresentsalX>ut 40 percentof
the total of skeletons whose sex has been determined (twenty-nine
males).34(4)J.Ziashasarguedthattheeast-westgravesarerecentbedouin
burials.If true,thiswouldapplytosixfemaleandthreemaleskeletonsand
wouldreducethefemale-maleratiointhecommunitycemeterytoabout 23
percent.(Ziasalsoresexessomefemaleskeletonsasmaleandsovirtually
eliminatcsJewishwomenfromthecemeteryaltogether,butthisis question-
able,)(5)Thenewandmoredetailedsurveysofthecemeteryrevealgreater
variationamongtheburialformsthanpreviouslyappreciated.Thebasic
"QuomlO-type" burialsarevertical shaft tombsgenemlly alignedsouth-
north,with mounds ofstonemarkers on thesurface. Usually a single
personisinterredineachtomb,ofteninasidenicheatthebonomcovered
withstonesormudbricks,Theskeletonsaremostlyorientedwiththehead
tothesouth,andthereareusuallynogravegoods,DeVauxisolatedthe
femaleskeletonsonthebasisofwhatheregardedasirregularities,butthere
areconsiderablevariationsamongallofthesefeatures,sothatitbecomes
questionablewhetheronecan speakof<t strictlyuniform practicefrom
whicha fewcanberegardedasdeviationssettingthemapart.3S(6)Thereis

DatenvorlageundErslauswertungaufgrundderCollectioKurth,- ReuQ 19 (999):}-47;
Zias,"cemeteriesofQummnandcelibacy";SusanGuiseSheridan,·Scholars,Soldiers,
Craftsmen,Elites?AnalysisofFrenchCoiledionofHumanRemainsfromQumran:DSD 9
(2002):199-248;HananEsheJetal.,"NewDataonthecemeteryEastofKhirbetQumrnn,"
DSD9(2002):135-165.
33 EshcletaI.,"NewD:l.IaontheCemetery:147-5<1.
34 TIlesefi.lo:uresfollowthestatisticsofEsheletaI.,'NewDataonthecemetery,"147-54,
notincludingthecontroversialidentificationsofSteckoll.
3SJlirgenlangenberg,"UonesofContention:'New'UonesfromQumnlllHelpSeltleOld
Questions(andRaiseNewOncs}-RemarksonTwoR...-.::entConferem::cs,"QC9(2<XXl),67-70;
Eshelet:II.,"NewDataontheCemetery,"t56-60.