Whose Bones - The BAS Library
Login
Home > Magazines > BAR > January/February 2003

Whose Bones

New Qumran Excavations, New Debates

By Magen Broshi, Hanan Eshel

027 Under the headline, “Digging for the Baptist,” the August 12, 2002 issue of Time magazine asked its readers: “Have archaeologists discovered the skeleton of John the Baptist?” Time’s answer: “It’s possible.” A related story in the Associated Press asked in its headline, “Could they be remains of sect’s leader, or John the Baptist?” 028 These and other similar stories were based on a press release from the University of Hartford headed, “University of Hartford Archaeologist Finds Remains of Man Who May Be the Missing Link Between Judaism and Christianity.” The first paragraph of the press release states, […]

You have already read your free article for this month. Please join the BAS Library or become an All Access member of BAS to gain full access to this article and so much more.

Join the BAS Library!

Already a library member? Log in here.

Institution user? Log in with your IP address or Username

Footnotes

1.

Richard A. Freund of the University of Hartford was the Project Director.

2.

Financial support was provided by John and Carol Merrill and by the Frankel Foundation of Los Angeles, to whom we are deeply grateful.

3.

Capably employed by operator Harry Jol of the University of Wisconsin.

4.

See André Lemaire, “Burial Box of James the Brother of Jesus,” BAR 28:06.

5.

See Otto Betz, “Was John the Baptist an Essene?” BR 06:06.

Endnotes

1.

Roland de Vaux, Fouilles de Khirbet Qumrân et de Ain Feshka I (Göttingen: Vanderhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994), pp. 4 and 352.

2.

See Joe Zias, “The Cemeteries of Qumran and Celibacy: Confusion Laid to Rest?” Dead Sea Discoveries (DSD) 7 (2000), pp. 220–253.

3.

The grave was excavated on July 29, 2002 and reburied on the same day.

4.

Ehud Netzer, “Enclosure of Tomb H (Goliath’s Tomb) in Rachel Hachlili and Ann Killebrew, eds. Jericho: the Jewish Cemetery of the Second Temple Period, IAA Reports 7 (Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority, 1999), pp. 45–50.

5.

At Deir Aziz south of Hebron (see David Amit, “Yatta Survey,” Excavations and Surveys in Israel 9 [1989], pp. 165–166); at Horvat Bourgin in the Shephelah (the early Roman period burial cave at Horvat Bourgin will be published by Boaz Zissu in ‘Atiqot); and at Beth Shearim above catacombs 14 and 20 (see Nahman Avigad, Beth-She‘arim 3: Catacombs 12–23 [Report on the Excavations During 1953–1958] Jerusalem 1976).

6.

Time, August 6, 2001.

7.

Geza Vermes, Discoveries in the Judean Desert (New York: 1956), pp. 89–97; J. T. Milik, “Ten Years of Discovery in the Wilderness of Judaea,” Studies in Biblical Theology 26 (London, 1959), pp. 74–87.

8.

Jodi Magness, “The Chronology of the Settlement at Qumran in the Herodian Period,” DSD 2 (1995), pp. 58–65

9.

R. Marcus, “Mebaqqer and Rabbim in the Manual of Discipline,” Journal of Biblical Literature (JBL) 75 (1965), pp. 298–302; J. F. Preist, “Mebaqqerm Paqid and the Messiah,” JBL 81 (1962), pp. 55–61; B. E. Thiering, “Mebaqqer and Episkopos in the Light of the Temple Scroll,” JBL 100 (1981), pp. 59–74; M. Weinfeld, The Organization and the Penal Code of the Qumran Sect (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1986), pp. 19–21.