Evidence that Qumran was reoccupied and revisited in the First and Second Centuries A.D. can be seen from the coins excavated there. Here is a list of the coins found so far that, for various reasons, may not be listed elsewhere.
Post-war coins found in Qumran are as follows:
- 13 Roman coins 67-68 CE
- 1 Roman coin 69-79 CE
- 2 Tyrian (?) coins 72-73 CE
- 4 Roman (?) coins 72-81 CE
- 1 Roman coin 87 CE
- 3 Roman coins 98-117 CE
- 6 Bar Kosiba coins 132-136 CE
Source: De Vaux_Archeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls_ pp. 19, 22, 34, 37, 44f.
cited e.g. in:
- Baigent/Leigh_The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception
- VanderKam_ The Dead Sea Scrolls Today
With Special Thanks to Dr. Dierk Van Den Berg for these sources.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
We often hear regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls that they "remained untouched" since they were first deposited in the Caves at Qumran, suggesting the idea of a "totally pristine" discovery.
In view of the fact that coinage from hostile elements prove that Qumran was revisited many times even into the Second Century A.D., how can one be entirely certain that the Caves were not entered and some Scrolls or portions of Scrolls were not deliberately defaced or perhaps even systematically "purged" or destroyed, leaving finally only what the last "censors" in the Second Century A.D. or those that had gone before, thought should remain?
PEOPLE OF G-D MINISTRIES
