fAtK:TIlEDEADSEASCROU.'>ANDQUMRAN 171hiddenatatimeofdanger,shearguesthatthehoardofcoinswithdates
mngingto9/8B.C.E.belongstothestratumofPeriodJ,wheretheywere
actually found. Thus, the community repaired and continued on at
Qumranaftertheearthquakeof 31 B,C,I:.,untiltheywereattackedaround
9/8 B.C.!:. and theirseulementdestroyed. Theabandonmentwas thus
short,withthecommunityreturningfollowing 4 !J.C.Learlyinthereignof
HerodArchelaus.
MostcontentiousofallisthecemeteryatQumran.CriticsofdeVaux
havechargedthathisdeSCriptionofthecemeteryinappropriatelymargin-
alizedthe presenceofwomenandchildrenundertheinfluenceofthe
viewofEssenesascelibatefoundinPliny,Philo,andJosephus.^21 How-
ever,equallyVOGIIaresupportersoftheviewthatthiswasa cemeteryfor
celibateEssenes,withafewanomalousburialsofwomenandchildren,22
Thisdebate,heatedaltimes,ispartofa largerissueoftheuseoflanguage.
SomehavecriticizeddeVaux'suseofmonasticlanguagesuchas"refec-
tory"and"scriptorium"asinappropri:ltt.:lydepictingthecommunityonthe
modelofcelibatemonksliVingaVOwofpoverty.
Commontosuchcriticismsareconcernsthatinterpretationofmaterial
remainswasinfluencedbytheinterpretationoftextsandbypreconcep-
tions,23 It is indeed worth ponderinghow Qumran might hOlve been
describedifexcavaledbeforethediscoveryoftheDeadSeaScrollsand
withoutreferencetoPliny'sdescriptionoftheEssenes-butweshallnever
know.It wasexcavatedbecausescrollswerefoundnearbyandwithacon~
cerntoidentifytheauthorsofthescrolls,whowerealreadysuspectedtobe
Essenes.Noristhistoimplythatarcheologistsshouldignoretexts,butitis
essentialclearlytodifferentiatebetweensecuredatafrommaterialfindsand
hypothesesalXluthowthesemightrelatetoother(e.g.,textual)evidence.
Forthemostpail,deVauxwascarefultomakethisdistinctionexplicit,
althoughinevitablythere wereinstanceswheresynthesis influencedhis
21 JoanE.Taylor,"TheCemcteriesofKhirbetQuml"'JnandWomen'sPresenceatthe
Site:DSD6 (1999):285-323;EileenSchuller,"WomenintheDeadSeaScrolls:inFlint:tnd
VanderK:lln,f)t.,'(/dseaScrollsafterFifty)'ean;,2:t39-4t;LindaBennctElder,"111CWom;m
Question:IndFemaleAscctics:1I11ongE.ssenes:(]A 57 (1994):220-34
22 Magen Brushi, "Was Qumran, Ind{.'Cd, a Monastery?The Conscn5us and Its
Challengers:AnArchaeologist'sView,·inCa~'f-'SojEnligblcn1lu!t/t:Proceedil/gsoj/beAmerican
ScboolsojOriel/la(Rt.'ScarcbDeadseaScro(lsJubileeSymposium(1947-1997)(cd.J,H.
Charlesworth;NorthRichlandHills,Tex.:Bibal.1998),t9-37;JosephE.Zias,"TheCemeteries
ofQumranandCelibacy:ConfusionI':lidtoRest?"DSD7 (2000):220-53.
2'D""ie,;,"I-lowNOl 10 DoArchaeology";AlI"nRosengrenPctcr:;cn,"TheArd"'''ology
ofKhirbetQumr:m:inQumranOC'IU'f-'e1/theOldalldNewTt.'Stamell/s(ed.F.H.Cryerand
T. LThompson;JSOTSup 290:Copenhagen Inlern:uion:llSCminu6; Sheffield:Sheffield
AcademicPress,191)8),249--60.