Qumran Caves

This is an accepted version of this page The Qumran Caves (Arabic: كهوف قمران Kuhūf Qumrān; Hebrew: מערות קומראן HaMeara Kumran) are a series of caves, both natural and artificial, found around the archaeological site of Qumran in the Judaean Desert.

Israel has since invested heavily in the area to establish the Qumran caves as a site of "uniquely Israeli Jewish heritage".

In late 1946 or early 1947, a Bedouin boy of the Ta'amireh tribe, Muhammid Ahmed el-Hamed called edh-Dhib (the wolf), found a cave after searching for a lost animal.

They were shown to Mar Samuel of the Syriac Orthodox Church in April 1947 who realised their significance and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was made known.

Although 230 natural caves, crevices and other possible hiding places were examined in an 8-kilometer area along the cliffs near Qumran, only 40 contained any artifacts and one alone, 3Q, produced texts, the most unusual being the Copper Scroll.

In addition, archaeologists discovered pottery, flint blades, arrowheads, and a carnelian seal that date to the Chalcolithic and Neolithic periods.

[22] In 1984–1985 Joseph Patrich and Yigael Yadin carried out a systematic survey of over 57 caves north of Qumran and two to the south.

One of Patrich's conclusions was that the caves "did not serve as habitations for the members of the Dead Sea Sect, but rather as stores and hiding places".

[27] Cave FQ37 (named in the 1952 survey) located high up on the cliff face 2 kilometers south of Qumran was also an improbable site for permanent dwelling, due to its inaccessibility.

In late 1995 and early 1996, Magen Broshi and Hanan Eshel carried out further excavations in the caves north of Qumran.

[28] Broshi and Eshel concentrated their interest in the area just north of Qumran, examining two caves they designated as C and F in a small ravine.