Discovery

This week I'm going to focus on gathering information on the discovery of the dead sea scrolls. Throughout my research I will be trying to find answers for the following questions:

What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
Who discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls?
When were the Dead Sea Scrolls found?
Where were the Dead Sea Scrolls found?
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This information was relatively easy to find. This is not surprising because the Dead Sea Scrolls are well-known throughout the world. In particular I was pleased to discover that the Swinburne Library had a large collection of online resources such as ebooks etc which I found particularly useful. I also found plenty of websites on the subject. Therefore I have not come across any research difficulties yet.
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The main reason why the Dead Sea Scrolls fascinate so many is because the scrolls give us a rare insight into the origins of our culture and the faith of Jews and Christians today.


The accidental discovery occurred in early 1947 when three young shepherds from the Ta’amereh Bedouin tribe were in the vicinity of the springs ‘Ein-Feshkha’ –about two miles from Khirbit Qumran. One evening when searching for a lost cattle one of the shepherds named Jam’a threw a stone into one of the many caves surrounding the cliffs. The shepherd was surprised to hear a loud crash emanate from within it but because it was dark the men decided to investigate further the next day. The following morning Muhammed Ed-Dib was the first to entre the cave and, in one of the numerous stone jars, each about two feet high, he found three manuscripts, two wrapped in linen cloth.



-This picture shows Cave no.1



-This picture shows some of the pottery which was found near the site.

The cave where he found the manuscripts was since dubbed cave 1 and it’s discovery eventually lead to the discovery of 10 more caves between 1947-1956. The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as one of the twentieth century’s most important discoveries. You can learn more about the discovery etc by watching the following clip (part 1 of three) from youtube:



Resources:

Lim, T 2005, The dead Sea scrolls, a very short introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, viewed 2 April 2010.

Charlesworth, JH 2006, The bible and the dead sea scrolls, vol 1, scripture and the scrolls, Baylor University Press, Waco, viewed 2 April 2010.

Hirst, K.K 2010, Map of the dead sea caves, the dead sea scrolls, About.com, viewed 2 April 2010, http://archaeology.about.com/od/biblicalarchaeology/ig/Dead-Sea-Scrolls/Map-of-the-Dead-Sea-Caves.htm

Dead sea scrolls, crystalinks, 2 April 2010, http://www.crystalinks.com/dss.html

g8trman77, In search of dead sea scrolls, youtube, viewed 28 April 2010,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaUEZBnztd8