Potty archaeology Toilets may be clue to texts
The latrines that the presumed writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls used to show their religious devotion may have led to their early deaths, according to a new study co-authored by UNC Charlotte religion expert James Tabor.The discovery of the ancient toilets also gives more evidence that the scrolls were written by a small Jewish sect called the Essenes, said Tabor, who chairs UNCC’s Department of Religious Studies.
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In keeping with ancient ritual, the Essenes likely took a paddle or shovel with them to bury their waste. That differs from cultures like the Bedouins, who dumped their waste on the ground where sunlight would have killed the parasites or wind would have blown the feces away.
But the study said the Essenes used the same latrine for nearly 100 years, meaning the men walked over the buried parasites, which could stay alive for a year. “It’s like a toxic waste dump,” Zias said in the release. “And if you have any cuts on your feet …”
There’s really not enough there to do any judging and, frankly, I’m not an expert on Jewish toilet activity during this period. Or any other.
UPDATE: Way more information here. Not so far-fetched after all. Though the hypothesis that they had a somewhat lower life expectancy than other places isn’t really supported directly by this. The lack of running water could certainly have contributed to the disease load as well as other lifestyle choices. Still, read that whole thing and it answers many questions.
I tried Google Earthing Qumran (which Wikipedia gives as near 31°45′N 35°26′E) but the resolution is bad in that area.
Seems to me the whole ‘direct evidence’ claim of this paper rests on the supposed ‘Essene’ uniqueness of latrines outside a settlement. But that is wrong. Humans show a natural preference for distancing their latrines from their settlements. First a modern example: in British pre WWII settlements without sewers (such as here in Australia) the toilet was always placed at the opposite end of the property from the dwellings.
In present-day rural India it is still often customary to defecate in an open field, and these areas are defined by villagers, usually at some distance from the town (no, not always distant enough!).
Old Hindu Brahminical lawbooks (probably dating from at least 2 millennia but representing older ideas) decree that one must not only defecate but also urinate at a distance ‘the shot of an arrow’ from dwellings. Brahminical texts are known to be linked to others in the Babylonian Middle East and Persia, suggesting that the Mosaic latrine tradition is not as unique as assumed. True, none of the above involve burying nightsoil, but that has such obvious practical benefits that I doubt it was a uniquely Mosaic tradition either.
The alternate claim for Qumran is that it is a Herodian military outpost. Herod was greatly influenced by Roman ways. The Roman military observed strict protocols in everything. Have the authors studied Roman latrine protocols for comparison? I think burial of nightsoil distant from a military camp would just make good practical sense, even if it was carried to the site in buckets.
Comment by aussie — November 18, 2006 @ 6:15 pm