Controversy continues among researchers as to the character of the settlement
at Qumran. One aspect of the site that has not received as much attention as
other issues is the pottery. Research of the pottery of the Hasmonean and Herodian
winter palaces of Jericho (90 BCE-48/73 CE) has provided another tool and a
different perspective with which to understand the strata at Qumran. Comparisons
between the pottery of the two sites shows their similarity during the Hasmonean
period, and also shows parallel changes in the character of the pottery that
took place at both sites during the time of Herod and during the first century
CE. As a result of such findings, questions about existing explanations and
interpretations must be raised. It appears that it is necessary to reexamine
Qumran in relation to other Judean sites of the Second Temple Period (such as
Jericho, Cypros, Masada, Herodium and Jerusalem).