Israeli archaeologists recently discovered dozens of new Dead Sea Scrolls fragments with biblical verses in a desert cave, the first to be found in the desert south of Jerusalem in nearly 60 years.
In a major development in Israeli archaeological research, archaeologists have found dozens of new Dead Sea Scrolls with biblical texts in a desert cave, believed to have been hidden there during a disturbance nearly 1,900 years ago.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) on Tuesday (16) made public the recently unearthed artifacts, which include a new batch of Dead Sea Scrolls fragments, a group of rare coins, the remains of a mummified child about 6,000 years old, and a well-preserved basket that is more than 10,000 years old, according to comprehensive media reports. The Heritage Bureau described it as the oldest and largest basket known in the world.
Israel recently discovered dozens of new Dead Sea Scrolls fragments in a desert cave.
One of the Dead Sea Scroll fragments is a passage from the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets written in Greek, containing verses from the Book of Zechariah and the Book of Nahum. The Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets is a part of the Hebrew Bible.
The cave where the fragments were found is called “The Cave of Horror” and is located in a remote canyon in the Judean Desert, the same set as the parchment fragments previously found at the excavation site. The Judean Desert area spans southern Israel and the occupied West Bank.
The new find also includes a well-preserved woven basket that is more than 10,000 years old.
The Israel Antiquities Authority said that radiocarbon dating of the fragments dates back to the 2nd century AD. These are the first ancient scrolls to be found in the desert south of Jerusalem in nearly 60 years.
Archaeologists believe the biblical scrolls were hidden in this cave during the reign of Roman Emperor Hadrian from 132 to 136 A.D., when the Jewish Bar Kochba revolted in the Jewish province and Rome suppressed it with heavy troops, and the fighting between the two sides lasted nearly three years, with 580,000 Jews recorded as having been killed, 50 fortified towns and 985 villages destroyed, and numerous Romans killed in battle.
A restorer from the Israel Antiquities Authority is showing the newly discovered fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known codices of the Hebrew Old Testament in Hebrew, were first unearthed in 1947 at the site of Qumran, near the Dead Sea in eastern Jerusalem, and are considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.
Since 2017, the Israel Antiquities Authority has been conducting a series of rescue excavations using Drones, climbing tools and rock-climbing drops in the 80-kilometer-long cliffs and dozens of caves in the Judean wilderness to prevent theft of valuable artifacts.
Since 2017, the Israel Antiquities Authority has been conducting a series of rescue excavations in the Wilderness of Judah.
The new fragments suggest that the story of the Dead Sea Scrolls is not yet complete and that more may be hidden in other caves.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the Israel Antiquities Authority said, “The climatic conditions inside the caves have allowed for the preservation of the scrolls and ancient documents, which are extremely important cultural heritage. And this is the fundamental reason for the implementation of this operation, namely to save this precious and important heritage from looters.”
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