In what are widely considered to be one of the most significant finds in history in terms of religious texts, there are hundreds of dead sea scrolls currently discovered, found in a labyrinth of caves in Israel. Some of the texts date back over 2,000 years.
The newest cave discovered, found by Israeli archaeologists, is the twelfth cave to be found, however evidence in the cave suggests the cave was likely looted by the Bedouin people in the 1950’s.
The twelfth caves’ discovery came about from the first major excavation as part of ‘Operation Scroll’, a combined large scale search for new caves containing previously undiscovered Dead Sea Scrolls.
“Until now, it was accepted that Dead Sea Scrolls were found only in 11 caves at Qumran, but now there is no doubt that this is the 12th cave,” said Dr Oren Gutfeld.
“Although at the end of the day no scroll was found, and instead we ‘only’ found a piece of parchment rolled up in a jug that was being processed for writing, the findings indicate beyond any doubt that the cave contained scrolls that were stolen.”
“The findings include the jars in which the scrolls and their covering were hidden, a leather strap for binding the scroll, a cloth that wrapped the scrolls, tendons and pieces of skin connecting fragments, and more.”
The Dead Sea Scrolls contains texts from the early Hebrew Bible, biblical commentary, and also contained calendars, astronomical charts and hymns.
