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Along the shore of Wadi Qumran runs an ancient stone wall—extending from the Qumran settlement to the edge of the terrace. While the wall now lies well above the water line, in ancient times, when the water was 65 to 80 feet higher, this structure may have been a wharf, providing easy access to the Dead Sea. If so, argue authors Crown and Cansdale, Qumran would surely have been a trading post, and possibly a salt-manufacturing center as well.