As I wandered through the ROM's current showing of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition what struck me most profoundly was that the more we venture into the future the more we need to understand the past. The past colours the world today as much as it did in its time.
The state of the world comes down to a few key elements; war, peace, belief, disbelief, family and traditions. A blending or an intolerance of societies that surround us is as important today as it was during the time period that the Dead Sea Scrolls were written in.
In 1947 a shepherd , Muhammed edh-Dhib and his cousin discovered the first set of scrolls in the caves of Qumran. That discovery, one that is said to be one of the world's most important historical finds, bridged gaps from the past for the world at large. The documents found gave validity to some of the Bible's historical texts. The discovery gave insights to the ancient civilizations in the Middle East and researchers a clear documentation of history from those who lived it.
To understand the scrolls one has to understand the history that they gave documentation to. The scrolls have given documentation to the history of the Jewish people and other peoples that lived in a world filled with faith and religious traditions. The exhibit at the ROM gives a detailed history of the time period that the Dead Sea Scrolls encompass.
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Qumran cave
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Book of War
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There are 900 manuscripts written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. For nine years the caves in Qumran were scoured, eleven of which held what is now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. From the lowest levels of the Earth scrolls were placed from 250 BCE until 68 CE.
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Qumran Pottery
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To begin our journey we must understand the city of Sepphoris, also known as the Hebrew city of Tzippori which in 100 BCE was the foremost city of Galilee. There has never been written text found from the region. This is probably because of the humidity, parchment nor papyrus would have been able to survive the sands of time.
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Apocryphal Psalms
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The city's architecture is Roman yet the city itself was Jewish without question. Of over 1,000 bone fragments found in Sepphoris there has yet to be a single pig fragment unearthed. Another clue that the city was of the Jewish people is that many homes contained ritual baths.
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fragment
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In 4 BC Sepphoris was the scene of bloodshed as the population fought back the Roman's authority and taxation. Within 70 years it had become an Eirenopolis, a city of peace. That peace came only after the Jewish people sided with their Roman residents.
Sepphoris is important because of it's location. The city was a day's walk to Phoenicia in the west, Samaria in the south and Decapolis and Perez to the east. As the central city it was known as a wealthy and influential Jewish center.
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oil lamps
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Another important location when understanding the scrolls is Jerusalem, to this day a central core of three of the world's most influential religions; Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
During the time period that the Second Temple was functioning the Jewish people in surrounding cities such as Judea and Galilee journeyed for days on foot or by pack animal three times a year to take part in ceremonies. From it's small beginnings where 5,000 people lived within a 12 hectare area, Jerusalem grew to an urban area of 180 hectare with a population of 60,000. By this time it had become a Persian empire and later a Greek speaking Ptolemaic Empire.
Herod's Temple was built in this area. It is said to have been the beauty of it's time.
"Whoever has not seen Herod's building has not seen a beautiful building in his life."
-Babylonian Talmud
It is thought that Temple priests would have copied and written texts but there is little evidence of this. The people themselves were barely literate. There are those who have speculated that the priests could have written some of the Dead Sea Scrolls but that has yet to be proven.
What is known of the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls is that they knew Jerusalem inside and out. They knew the good and the bad, including the corruption of some of the High Priests in the Temple.
"the city in which the evil priest has undertaken abominable actions so as to render the Temple impure"
-Habakkur Pesher
Some of the documentation in the scrolls discussed the ritual purity and the controversy that lead to the destruction of the Temple. That controversy lead to divisions among the Jewish people. The divisions lead to different sects such as the Pharisees, learned lay leaders who represented the common people; the Essenes, a sect that were secluded from all other sects and the Sadducees, the high priesthood and aristocracy.
From 200 BCE until 2 CE Jerusalem was in a state of constant war with Rome. During this long period of time coins were a way for the common person to understand the state of current political events. Coins, then as today, used the face of the current ruler as a marker. This along with the date, which also was featured on these coins the people could see who was in power in various areas.
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Qumran aerial
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The scrolls themselves are amazing. That pieces of parchment have survived to give us the history of the past is incredible.
As I exited the exhibit I ran into Gloria Chen, a cheerful employee of the ROM. She told me that even if there has been some
discordant earlier in the year about the Scrolls appearing in the museum, she has only seen awe and excitement in visitors. Ms. Chen went on to tell me that the museum has a Book of the Dead, from the same time period on permanent display.
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flasks
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The only criticism I have with the exhibition is the lack of staff who are on hand to answer questions about the displays. When I went on Wednesday evening there was no one who could answer any questions around, although there were several security guards throughout the area.
The admission to the ROM is:
Adults: $28
Students (15-17, with ID): $25
Children (4-14): $15
Seniors (age 65 plus): $25
Members: $6
Young children under the age of 4 are free.
General admission to the Museum is free every Wednesday from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm, except from June 27 to July 12, 2009 when the Museum will be free 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. This offer excludes admission specially ticketed exhibitions. Half Price admission remains on Fridays from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm; for general admission only.
