The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is perhaps to Christians, the greatest religious discovery of the modern world.  These scrolls found in caves close to the ruins of the Qumran settlement contain all books of the Old Testament with the exception of Esther.  The manuscripts date from between 150 BC and 70 AD.  The scrolls are generally identified with an ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes.  Pottery found in the caves along with the scrolls are identical to pottery vessels found in Qumran.  Archaelogical findings discovered a storeroom in the Qumran settlement containing more than 1000 pottery items including drinking cups, bowls and plates.

This set of dishes is an exact replica of the dishes found in Qumran.  These are pottery dishes from the Holy Land of the type that were in use at the time of Jesus.  These dishes are made from native clay and are not glazed. 

While the Essenes used these dishes for eating, they should not be used in today's world  for any purpose other than ceremonial since they are not glazed.

These dishes from Qumran, the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls, include a cup, a bowl and a plate. Bread was used often as a utensil using it to pick up food from a plate.  Approximate sizes are the plate is 6 inches in diameter, the bowl 5 inches and the cup is 4.75 inches in diameter.