Definition: Qumran is the northern Dead Sea desert plain, part of Jordan (1949- 1967). In Qumran was a region of eleven caves that yielded Hebrew biblical, sectarian, and literary scrolls. It is the habitation site where excavations have uncovered a complex of communal structures and generated numerous artifacts; the site was founded in the second century B.C.E. and abandoned about the time of the Roman offensive of 68 C.E. when the site was destroyed.