Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 11-13-2006, 04:12 PM

Toilet tied to tale of Dead Sea Scrolls: 'Bioarchaeology' sheds light on earthy side of scriptural lore

James Tabor and Joe Zias think that the placement of a communal latrine at Qumran is evidence that it was an Essene community, not a simple pottery factory. Norman Golb thinks not.

Quote:

It all started with Tabor's reflection on historical texts: The book of Deuteronomy, as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves, considered bathroom duties to be unclean in the sight of God. Thus, the faithful were told that their latrines had to be placed far enough away from the community to be out of sight. Various references specify distances of 1,000 to 3,000 cubits (1,500 to 4,500 feet, or 457 to 1,370 meters), preferably to the northwest of the community.

According to the 1st-century historian Josephus, the Essenes in Jerusalem strictly observed this custom. He marveled at the Essenes' religious and intestinal fortitude, noting that they refused to "go to stool" on the Sabbath — and Tabor speculated that this was because the latrine was farther away than Jews were allowed to travel on the holy day.

Years ago, it struck Tabor that Essenes at Qumran should have had a similar practice. "I thought, 'They must have been doing this if they believed it so fervently. Has anyone ever gone out and looked for this?'" he recalled...

...
"What James Tabor has done here is to just disregard all the evidence we've turned up," Golb told MSNBC.com.

He ticked off the top arguments against assuming that the Essenes were the ones behind the Dead Sea Scrolls — including the fact that the scrolls included texts that represented other, non-Essene strains of Jewish religious thought; the claim that the Copper Scroll listed locations for hidden treasures from the Jerusalem Temple; and references to the Qumran caves in other ancient texts as a hiding place for Jerusalem refugees.

Toto · 11-14-2006, 12:21 PM

I hope that someone more knowledgable than I am can comment on this.

The story was picked up by Nature, with emphasis on the potty part: Unearthed: ancient sect's extreme latrine

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An ancient Jewish sect showed such devotion to their definition of purity that they pursued bizarre toilet habits that left them riddled with parasites, say researchers who have discovered and dug up their toilet.

The discovery, made at Qumran, near Jerusalem, could provide more proof linking the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Essene people who lived in the area, the researchers claim.

The New York Times covers it in its science section ("Latrines of the Essenes") with a rather undignified illustration

The LA Times has accepted the Essene connection and characterized the dissent from that point of view as small but noisy: Latrine practices posed health risks to sect: Archeologists look at the toilet rituals that shortened the lives of the men who created the Dead Sea Scrolls.

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"Some people might laugh, but it is terribly sad," he said. "They were so dedicated and had such a strenuous lifestyle, but they were probably lowering their life expectancy and ruining their health in an effort to do what is right."

The discovery of the unique toilet area provides further evidence linking the scrolls to Qumran — an association that has recently been called into question by a small but vociferous group of archeologists who have argued that the settlement was a pottery factory, a country villa or a Roman fortress, but not a monastery.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, the revisionists claim, were actually hidden in the caves of Qumran by Jews fleeing the devastation of Jerusalem during the Roman suppression beginning in AD 66. The majority of archeologists, in contrast, argue that the scrolls were copies produced by a small sect, generally called the Essenes, who lived at Qumran.

spin · 11-15-2006, 10:07 AM

I'm sorry, but this stuff sounds like a crock of shite to me. Jodi Magness has clucked about a latrine found within the site of Qumran (locus 51) for years. This latrine, being within the site means that it contravenes the laws on toilet habits attributed to the Essenes and described in Josephus. Whatever these people have found will not change the fact that the site would be considered defiled if it had been inhabited by Essenes. Therefore one has to conclude that Zias and Tabor are acting clueless.

So they found a hole used for excrement, which shows the possibility that the user(s) had parasites. How does one convert that fact into knowing the religious beliefs of the defecators? Hell, these people clutch at straws.

spin

Toto · 11-17-2006, 06:04 PM

PZ Myers has blogged about this story

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11-15-2006, 10:07 AM	#3
spin Contributor Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: nowhere Posts: 15,747	I'm sorry, but this stuff sounds like a crock of shite to me. Jodi Magness has clucked about a latrine found within the site of Qumran (locus 51) for years. This latrine, being within the site means that it contravenes the laws on toilet habits attributed to the Essenes and described in Josephus. Whatever these people have found will not change the fact that the site would be considered defiled if it had been inhabited by Essenes. Therefore one has to conclude that Zias and Tabor are acting clueless. So they found a hole used for excrement, which shows the possibility that the user(s) had parasites. How does one convert that fact into knowing the religious beliefs of the defecators? Hell, these people clutch at straws. spin

11-17-2006, 06:04 PM	#4
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	PZ Myers has blogged about this story

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