Article: Writings, Ruins, and Their Reading: The Dead Sea Discoveries as a Case Study in Theory Formation and Scientific Interpretation(*).

Foreword

SCIENTIFIC research in various disciplines is itself often the object of study by philosophers and others. This essay takes up a case study from the field of research, known as Qumran studies, that has arisen as a result of the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls some fifty years ago. It brings together in a rather unique way the study of ancient texts on the one hand, and archaeological research on the other. This scientific field was born in drama, it is constantly infused with controversy, and it commands unusual popular attention and interest.

I shall focus mostly on the central theory in this field, which relates to the enigmatic origins of ...

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