Fragments of the Dead Sea Scroll with Biblical Text Discovered by Israeli Archaeologists

Jerusalem – Israeli archaeologists announced on Tuesday the discovery of dozens of new Dead Sea Parchment Fragments carrying a biblical text. The fragments were found in a cave in the desert and are believed to have been hidden during a Jewish uprising against Rome almost 1,900 years ago.

The parchment fragments feature lines of Greek text from the books of Zechariah and Nahum and were radiocarbon dated to the 2nd century AD, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority. They are the first new scrolls found in archaeological excavations in the desert south of Jerusalem in 60 years.

The new pieces are believed to belong to a set of parchment fragments found in a place known as “The Cave of Horror” – named after the 40 human skeletons found there during excavations in the 1960s – which also bring a Greek version. of the Twelve Minor Prophets. The cave is located in a remote gorge in the Judean desert, south of Jerusalem.

The fragments are believed to have been kept in the cave during the Bar Kochba Uprising, an armed Jewish revolt against Rome during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, between 132 and 136 AD.

The artifacts were found during an operation by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Judean Desert to find scrolls and other artifacts to prevent possible looting. The official was holding a press conference on Tuesday to reveal the discovery.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of Jewish texts found in desert caves in the West Bank near Qumran in the 1940s and 1950s, they date from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD They include the first known copies of biblical texts and documents outlining the beliefs of a little-known Jewish sect.