4.3. Data processing and calculations
The reproduction of the topographic development of the site
based on the heights of the caves (and the archaeological
material found originally in them), the settlement and the
terraces and the shingle bars in the nearby area, and the
geological substance that had been discovered by natural
scientist on the walls of the settlement at Qumran (Klein, 1982),
in the sediments that were excavated at the site, and residues
excavated and discovered in connection with skeletons in the
graveyard, and found also on the scroll material deposited in the
caves, revealed many most unusual things. Our most important
conclusion regarding the development of Qumran was that the
site — as we know it and understand it today — probably was the
scene of a paleoflood ca. 33 B.C. (Klein, 1982, Lónnqvist and
Lónnqvist, 2002) with a significant magnitude, several times
larger than peak discharges, causing landslides and fissures in
the ground.
As far as the astronomy of the site is concerned, the lack of true
east-west aspect of the Qumran settlement excluded from the
beginning that any of the major alignments observed at Qumran
would have anything to do with the equinoctial days. When the
winter solstice sunrise (114°) and sunset (230°) had been
observed, measured and documented in the field, it became
clear that an important solar alignment might be found around
the summer solstice for the south of east-north of west
orientation or the 286° sight line at Qumran. Initial
mathematical calculations predicted this. Eventually this was
proven right by empirical observations, measurements and
photographic documentation conducted 6 months later in 1994.
The summer solstice sunset lined up exactly with the central
axis of locus 77, indicating that it had a solar alignment. As the
settlement and the cemetery brought further evidence for this,
we conclude that they must have had a religious function in
relation to solar cult. Computer-aided astronomical calculations
supported our identification of the solar alignment at Qumran
for the E-W axis or the 286? sight line, but presented also stellar
references for the 106? direction.
The arcs of the sun between the extreme points in the horizon
and the solar declinations for the solstices were calculated with
the aid of astronomical algorithms and trigonometric functions
(Karttunen et alii, 1990; Meeus, 1991, 2002). The results of the
calculations indicated that the Qumran main azimuths of 20?
and 106? correspond to the direction and the rising angle of the
very well known stars y Draconis (popularly called Eltanin) and
B Orionis (popularly called Eltanin). The computer calculations
showed further that the star y Draconis would have been in an
azimuth of 20? around 800 B.C. In 160 B.C., precession would
have moved the star a degree and half to 21.5?. The ancients
frequently used D Orionis as it always rose from the same point
on the horizon, and it was of great importance for several
reasons, one of them religious. The arbitrarily chosen directions
that we measured at Qumran may well have astronomical
importance, as we have suggested, but due to the short space
available, this discussion will be omitted from this paper.
The cardinal geographical directions of the Qumran settlement
that we measured point approximately in the direction of
Damascus (22?) and Jerusalem (282?), both of which we know
from the Dead Sea Scrolls were important to the community.
However, we do not believe that a geographical explanation is
sufficient to elucidate the precise astronomical data and the
central planning of the settlement and the cemetery.
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol XXXV, Part B5. Istanbul 2004
An inventory of plans and spatial studies of excavated
archaeological sites in the Near East, the Eastern Mediterranean
and North and Central America made us also realize that there
were geographically, chronologically and archaeologically
scattered sites, which bear remarkable parallels and solar seeing
(Fig. 5) to the layout of the Qumran ruins.
Cos ow RF
wd bunk:
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xisimnuth
Fig. 5. Solar seeing and observations at Teotihuacán, Mexico
(T) and Khirbet Qumran (Q). Based on table of declinations and
azimuths. Prepared by R. Anttila. Note the similarity in the solar
seeing. Teotihuacán, Mexico, is a famous solar worship place.
We assume that this means that there was in many cases a
central planning where geography, astronomy and perhaps solar
religion played an important role. This is clearly demonstrated
by the remarkable similarities in the calculated or measured
latitudinal and the solar seeing of the sites in our case studies
presented in 2002 (Lónnqvist and Lónnqvist, 2002. Sec also
Fig. 6 below), and in many cases the periodical similarity.
Arc of Ce Sun in tlie esstern horiaon in degrees
gu
bs
{
>
60 — J
56 +4 f
54 /
| Ve
ta
nn
I3
=
20 23 an
Fig. 6. The arc of the Sun in the eastern horizon at Qumran in
degrees. Prepared by Reino Anttila.
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