Qumran - Monastery

The monastery-like settlement of the Essenes was originally surrounded by a high wall. No living or sleeping accommodation was found within the complex (the Essenes presumably slept in the neighboring caves), so there is some doubt whether it can in fact be regarded as akin to a monastery.

Near the entrance are the remains of a tower. Beyond this, to the left, is a courtyard, on one side of which (by the tower) is a kitchen and on the other the main building, which is 37.5m/123ft square.

Along its south side is the refectory and assembly hall, 24m/79ft long by 4.5m/15ft wide. On the upper floor was a scriptorium. In an adjoining room were found 1,700 pottery vessels and a jar with a lid like those in which the manuscripts were stored in the caves. The potters' workshop can be seen to the east of the main building, together with two cisterns damaged in the earthquake of 31 B.C. On the west side of the site are the remains of an aqueduct which fed the pools for ritual ablutions, as well as a cistern from the earlier Israelite period, a store-room, kilns and ovens.