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

FAI.K:THEDEADSEASCROllSANDQUMRAN 175

alsoa growingappreciationofhowthecemetery,aswellasQumrangen-
erally,fitsintoitsregionalcontextmorebroadly.Similarshaftburialsofthe
"Qumrantype"havecometolightatEinel-Ghuweirandl:Iiamel-Saghato
Ihesoulh,bUI alsoal BeHSafafainJerusalemandal KhirbetQazonein
Jordan.^36 ThecemeteryatKhirbetQazoneisthemostsignificant,because
it isNabateanandshowsthatwearenotdealingwitha typeofburial
uniquetoa particulargroupofJews.Thisalsomakesitveryproblematic
toreadreligiou~significancefromtheformofburial.
Debatesoverthecemeterywillcontinue,andperhapswithoutfurther
exhumationssomequestionswillremainunresolved. Nevertheless,how-
everoneinterpretsQumranonemustdealwiththefact thattherewere
womenburiedintheQumrancemeteryandthatthereareasyetnosolid
archaeologicalgroundsforisolatingtheseasmarginal.Ontheotherhand,
thereisa lowerratioofwomenandchildrentoadultmalesthanexpected
ina Iypicalpopulation,althoughnotnearlyasloworasanomalollsasoften
represcnted. Therescemstobesomethingunusualaboutthemakeupof
thiscommunity,butitisnotclearlya celibatecommunity.Itispossible,as
Ziashasarguedprimarilyonthebasisoforientation,gravedepth,and
gravegoods,thattheeast-'Nestburialsareofbedouinfrom morerecent
times,butthisisnotprovenandstilldoesnotchangethefactthatthereare
somewomenburiedthere.Theformofburialisneitherasconsistentnor
uniqueaspreviouslyregarded.Somescholarshavefoundinthecemetery
testimonytoanisolaledcommunity,thelackoffamilyunits,rejectionof
wealth,andparticularreligiousbeliefsaboutresurrection.·F Itisimponant
tobeclearthatsuchexplanationsofmotivationremainopenquestions.The
archaeologicalevidencebyitselfisambivalent, and anyproposed links
betweenthesematerialfeaturesandtexisremainhypotheses,notarchaeo-
logicaldata.Thereisanimportantlessonhere:indescribingarchaeological
dataoneshouldavoidlanguagethatimpliesaninterpretation.

CONTKOLl.lNGQUEsnONSANDFILTEREDDATA

In anyinvestigation,thequestionsthatoneasks 10 a certainextcnt

controlthedatathatarediscoveredandthewaythesedataarepresented.

36 1\-1<I8ne1>5. ArchaeologyofQumrall, 173-75, 187:Taylor, "CemeteriesorKhirbct

Qumran:310-13.&-ethereportsbyl30azZissu, "'QumronType'Grovel> injeruS<llem:

ArchaeologicalEvidenceoranEsseneComrnunity,-DSD5 (l99tH,158-71:!kr.IZZissu."Odd

TombOul,J-1:ISjerusalem'sEsscneCemeteryBeen Found?"BAR25/2(1999),50-55,62:

Harl,tllEl>hcJ,muZviGrL""Cnhut,"I:liamcJ·Sagha,.1CemeteryurtheQumr.tnType,Juuacan

Desert,"RB 100 (]993),252-59:HershelShanks,"WhoLiesHere?jordanTombsMatchThuse

atQumran,"BAR25/5(999):48-53,76.

37 E,g.,I-bchlili,"HlIri:!1Practices:!tQUrllmn:263;I'ut:ch,"Necropolises: