On Tuesday, the students of the École Biblique who are following the topography course of Friar Yunus Demirci, o.f.m, set off to visit and discover Qumran, as well as to discover the context of the Essenes community and their role here.
They were accompanied by Friar Jean-Baptiste Humbert, o.p, professor emeritus in charge of archaeology, who gave an overview of current research on the site.
This was an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Roland de Vaux, a pioneering and emblematic figure. For the pupils, the interest of these visits lies in the fact that they can put their intellectual knowledge into practice by going into the field, in contact with sources and history.
For Father Ludovic, student at the EBAF this year: “It is great to be able to benefit from the knowledge of the very competent people who surround us here at the EBAF. Being in Qumran, guided by Friar Jean-Baptiste, allows us to understand the theses developed by Father de Vaux. Having the eye of a specialist also allows us to understand and see what has been disguised or modified by time, the passage of man, and successive restorations.
Without forgetting the wink made to the school’s photo library which sees some of its most beautiful pictures displayed in the main entrance hall of the site, the visit continued on the site of Ein Feshkha.
