Dr. Gary Gromacki
Associate Professor
of Bible and
Homiletics
Baptist Bible Seminary
Clarks Summit,
Pennsylvania
<ggromacki>at <bbc>dot <edu>
The first season of excavations at Qumran took place from November 24-December 12, 1951. The excavation team was led by Roland de Vaux and G. Lankester Harding. The date and connection of the site with Cave 1 was confirmed by coins and pottery. The second season of excavations at Qumran was conducted from February 9-April 24, 1953. During this time the tower and central buildings were excavated. The third season of excavations at Qumran took place from February 13-April 14, 1954. The refectory and potter's workshop were excavated. The fourth season of excavations at Qumran took place from February 2-April 6, 1955. The western quarter was opened and the water system revealed. The fifth season of excavations at Qumran took place from February 18-March 28, 1956. Some 18 more tombs in the cemeteries were examined. After the de Vaux-Harding expeditions to Qumran the site received little archaeological attention. From December 1959 to April 1960 John Allegro was permitted by the Jordanian authorities to work at Qumran as part of his unsuccessful attempt to locate the treasures mentioned in the Copper Scroll of Cave 3. De Vaux charged that there were no serious archaeological controls to what Allegro's group did at Qumran and that they destroyed the sites at which they dug. The Six Day War of 1967 led to an Israeli takeover of the area, and restoration work continued under the control of the Israel Department of Antiquities. (sources of information: James VanderKam and Peter Flint, "Archeology of the Qumran Site" in The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls [San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002], 46; and Randall Price, Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls [Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1996], 453-458).
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LINKS TO OTHER DSS WEB PAGES BY DR. GARY GROMACKI
Doctrine of God Doctrine of the Bible Doctrine of Man and Sin
Doctrine of Salvation Doctrine of the Community Doctrine of the Messiah
Doctrine of Eschatology Archaeology of Qumran Bibliography on the DSS
Web Sites on the DSS DSS Table of Contents