FROM JEAN-BAPTISTE HUMBERT AND ALAIN CHAMBON, FOUILLES DE KHIRBET QUMRÂN ET DE AÏN FESHKHA I, GÖTTINGEN: VANDENHOECK RUPRECHT, 1994, P. 165

OLD DISHES. Adjacent to the communal dining room and assembly hall at Khirbet Qumran was this pantry (L86). More than 1,000 dining dishes were found on the floor, left buried beneath the collapse caused by the 31 B.C.E. earthquake. Apparently produced locally, the pottery represents a complete table service (plates, cups, bowls, and jugs) and points to communal meals with many participants.