Qumran

Best known as the settlement nearest to the cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, many historians believe that the site was home to a Jewish sect - the Essenes are most commonly cited as likely inhabitants. Indeed, some scholars have argued that the caves where the nearly 900 scrolls were found were the permanent libraries of the sect.

More recently, however, the Qumran site has been reinterpreted by some archaeologists, who have suggested that the buildings may actually have been a Hasmonean fortress, the country villa for a wealthy family or even a pottery workshop. Others have proposed a mid-course, with the site serving a variety of functions during its history including paying host to the Essene sect.

A team from UCLA has created a virtual reconstruction of Qumran in order to test out the various ideas.

To read an exclusive interview with Qumran excavator Yuval Peleg click here.

To read about Peleg's theory of what Qumran was and how the scroll's got there click here.