Qumran

This is the site of Qumran - lots of caves in the mountains. There was a community living here called the Essenes, close to the Dead Sea. They took Isaiah literally:

"In the desert prepare the way of the Lord" (Isaiah 40:3).

Lots of their pottery was found. The building below is their communal eating room

For the Essenes it was important to have living water for cleansing. They had elaborate water systems made.

Living water is water that was not carried but came directly from God

They found a water trough and quite a few Mikvaot (ritual baths).

Every day ritual cleaning would involve:

Head * may my thoughts be cleaned

Heart * may my will be cleaned

Hands * may the things I've done be cleaned

Feet * may my lifestyle be cleaned

It is interesting to note where Jesus' wounds were on the cross:

Nails - pierced through his hands and feet

Crown of Thorns - on his head

Spear - pierced his heart

The one thing that the Essenes are most famous for is the scrolls that were found around the area. There were lots of scrolls from the Hebrew Bible and also book about this community. Today, these are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Essenes called themselves "the sons of light."

These scrolls were found quite by accident. They aren't sure exactly how they are found, but the popular story is that a shepherd boy found the scrolls while looking for some of the stray animals.

The famous cave where the fist scrolls were found.

A boy threw a rock in the cave and heard breaking pottery.
That's when the discovery of the ancient scrolls was made.

It took a while before the importance of the scrolls was discovered.
Because of the scrolls, we know that the scribes were very precise when they copied the scriptures.