Looking south from Qumran along the west shore of the Dead Sea towards the freshwater springs of Ain Feshkha and Ain el Ghuweir, where smaller Essene settlements were established. Non-monastic Essenes are believed to have dwelt in Jerusalem and other cities and villages with Jewish populations, including Damascus and Alexandria. According to the contemporary Jewish historian Josephus, the Essenes "occupy no one city, but settle in large numbers in every town." (The Jewish War 2, 122-28.)

Photograph by John Allegro - © Manchester Museum