Overview

Bibliography

Located at the northwestern corner of the Dead Sea just south of Qumran, 'Ain Feshkha rests alongside an oasis once fed by as many as twenty fresh water springs, making it one of the most hospitable places for human settlement anywhere south of Jericho. The mostly Roman material remains situated alongside this desert oasis were first excavated by Roland de Vaux in the mid to late 1950s, with more systematic excavations conducted by the late Yizhar Hirschfeld in 2001.

Although the site is important in itself, 'Ain Feshkha's real significance lies in the implications it raises for the traditional Essene-Qumran hypothesis, arising in connection with its physical association with nearby Qumran. The site itself consists of a main building and a nearby industrial complex.

The archaeological strata uncovered at the site, as illustrated in the site plan, date to the following periods:

	Roman Period
	Roman Additions