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ArchaeologistsMightHaveFoundAnotherDeadSeaScroll
Cave
Itcouldbecavenumber12
ArcheologistsfoundthispieceofparchmentrolledupinajuginacaveonthecliffswestofQumran.(CaseyL.
OlsonandOrenGutfeld)
ByLaurenYoung
smithsonian.com
February8,2017
Inthelate1940s,teenagersexploredacavehiddenintheflanksofjaggedhillsofWadiQumranintheJudeanDesert.Inside,
theydiscoveredfragmentsoftheoriginalDeadSeaScrollsancientcollectionsoftextthatcontaintheoldestknownbiblical
manuscripts.Sincethen,archaeologistshavefound11Qumrancavesthattheyhaveextensivelyexcavatedinsearchofthe
preciousscrollsthatdatebackmorethan2,000yearsago.Now,ateamofarchaeologistsfromtheHebrewUniversityof
JerusalemandLibertyUniversityinVirginiahavediscoveredwhattheybelievetobea12thcaveonthecliffswestofQumran.
TheHebrewUniversitypressreleasewritesthatinthefirstwidescalesurveyintheareasince1993,theteamunearthedstorage
jarsandlidsfromtheSecondTempleperiod(datingfrom530BCto70CE)inthecavethatsomescholarsarealreadycalling
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number12.Theyalsofoundapairofironpickaxeheadsthattheyidentifiedasbeingfromthe1950s,suggestingthecavehad
beenlooted.
OrenGutfeld,anarchaeologistatHebrewUniversitywhowaspartofthedig,saysheisconfidentthatthenewlydiscoveredcave
oncecontainedDeadSeaScrolls.Althoughattheendofthedaynoscrollwasfound,andinsteadweonlyfoundapieceof
parchmentrolledupinajugthatwasbeingprocessedforwriting,thefindingsindicatebeyondanydoubtthatthecavecontained
scrollsthatwerestolen,hesaysintherelease.
TheDeadSeaScrollsarefirstpersonaccountsofhistory,andtheinformationtheycontainispriceless.AsAndrewLawler
explainedinSmithsonianMagazine:TheDeadSeaScrollscomprisingmorethan800documentsmadeofanimalskin,
papyrusandevenforgedcopperdeepenedourunderstandingoftheBibleandshedlightonthehistoriesofJudaismand
Christianity.
InadditiontoBiblicaltext,thescrollscontainhymns,prayers,commentaries,andmysticalformulas,Lawlerwrites.Theyreso
valuablethatafragmentofanoriginalscrollthesizeofafingernailcancostupto$1,000,000,theBiblicalMuseumatLiberty
Universitynotes.
ThenewdiscoveryhasIsraelHasson,directorgeneraloftheIsraelAntiquitiesAuthority,callingformorefundingto
systematicallysearchallcavesintheJudeanDesertforartifactsthathaveyettobediscovered.Weareinaraceagainsttimeas
antiquitiesthievesstealheritageassetsworldwideforfinancialgain,hesaysintherelease.
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