9 December 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

New Dead Sea Scrolls in The Horror Cave

On Tuesday, Israeli archaeologists revealed dozens of recently discovered fragments of Bible text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were based on ancient Jewish religious manuscripts first discovered 60 years ago.

In an astonishingly rare discovery, in a daring rescue operation, about twelve biblical scrolls with a history of 2,000 years were excavated from a cave in the Judah desert. The newly discovered scroll fragment is a Greek translation of Zechariah and Nahum in the Twelve Little Prophets, written by two scribes. Only the name of God is written in Hebrew in the texts.

Israel’s antiquities authorities said the parchment pieces feature lines of Greek text from the books of Zechariah and Nahum that have been radiocarbon dated to the 2nd century AD.

More than 20 fragments were found in the so-called horror cave of Nahal Hever, which is located about 80 meters (260 feet) below the top of the cliff. According to a press release from the Israel Antiquities Administration, the cave was named because “it is surrounded by a canyon and can only be reached by descending rapidly on a steep cliff.”

The discovery also included a collection of millennial rare coins, a 6,000-year-old skeleton of a child – possibly a woman, mummified in a piece of cloth – and a large 10,500-year-old basket that experts believe may be the oldest in the world.

“These finds are not just important to our own cultural heritage, but to that of the entire world,” said Avi Cohen, CEO of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, which was involved in the excavation.

“The scroll fragments containing biblical texts, the coins, and the additional funds from the Second Temple Period that were found in this unique project directly attest to the Jewish heritage of the region and the inseparable bond between the Jewish cultural activities and our place in this land,” he added.

A piece of previously discovered dead sea scrolls
A piece of previously discovered dead sea scrolls. EPA

It is believed that these artworks were hidden in the cave during the Bar Kochba Revolt, an armed Jewish uprising against Rome during the reign of Emperor Hadrian from 132 to 136 AD.

Since 2017, the national archaeological project has been called the defense project against the looting of antiquities, and the project has been carried out in the caves and ravines of the Judean Desert. The project was funded by the Israel Antiquities Administration, the Archaeology Department of the Judean Civil Administration, and Samaria, and was funded by the Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry.

“The desert team showed exceptional courage, dedication and devotion to purpose, rappelling down to caves located between heaven and earth, digging and sifting through them, enduring thick and suffocating dust, and returning with gifts of immeasurable worth for mankind,” said Israel Antiquities Authority’s director Israel Hasson, who led the widespread rescue operation, in an IAA press release.

“The newly discovered scroll fragments are a wake-up call to the state. Resources must be allocated for the completion of this historically important operation. We must ensure that we recover all the data that has not yet been discovered in the caves before the robbers do. Some things are beyond value,” Hasson said.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of Jewish texts, were first encountered by Bedouin shepherds in desert caves in the West Bank, near the Dead Sea and the ancient city of Qumran, in 1946. Bedouins had hung the scrolls on a pole earlier. their existence was discovered by a Jewish professor at the Hebrew University.

During the 1940s and 1950s, continuous excavations in the Qumran area and beyond yielded additional manuscripts and fragments that eventually became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

These fragments, mainly on parchment as well as papyrus pieces, are believed to date from the 3rd century BC. to the 1st century AD and contain the earliest known copies of the Hebrew Bible and documentation of the ascetic Jewish sect that existed in Jesus’ day.

Related Articles

The 2800-year-old Urartians Lake, which is an engineering masterpiece of its time, is drying

13 July 2023

13 July 2023

Keşiş Lake in Van, in eastern Turkey, which was built by the Urartu King Rusa 2,800 years ago, was negatively...

A 2000-year-old bronze military diploma was discovered in Turkey’s Perre ancient city

2 January 2022

2 January 2022

During excavations in the ancient city of Perre, located in the southeastern Turkish province of Adiyaman, archaeologists uncovered a bronze...

Tomb of an Urartian buried with his dog, cattle, sheep, and 4 horses unearthed

6 September 2021

6 September 2021

In ancient times, the dead were buried with their living and non-living things. The offerings placed as dead gifts varied...

Iron Age port discovered on Swedish island of Gotska Sandön

21 September 2023

21 September 2023

Archaeologists have discovered an Iron Age port on Gotska Sandön, an island and national park in Sweden’s Gotland district. In...

A surprising discovery in Lublin countryside! Ancient figurines of Egyptian and Roman gods found

6 May 2023

6 May 2023

Two ancient figurines depicting the Egyptian god Osiris and a bust of the Roman god Bacchus were found in the...

A previously unknown subterranean tract of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples

4 February 2023

4 February 2023

A previously unknown subterranean tract nearly half a mile long of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples, southern...

2,300-year-old Buddhist temple discovered in Pakistan

23 December 2021

23 December 2021

Remains of a 2300 years old Buddhist Temple have been discovered in Northwest Pakistan by a joint team of Pakistani...

More evidence shows Vikings came to North America before Columbus

22 May 2023

22 May 2023

Although the discovery of North America is synonymous with Christopher Columbus, new research reveals that Viking sailors landed on the...

Bosphorus Was Frozen, People Crossed By Walking

14 February 2021

14 February 2021

The calendars showed the year 1954. Istanbul was experiencing an extremely freezing winter after many years. Heavy snowfall, hard enough...

The sword, thought to be a replica, turned out to be an authentic 3000-year-old Bronze Age sword

22 January 2023

22 January 2023

A sword in Chicago’s Field Museum that was previously thought to be a replica has been revealed to be an...

Fossils of sea creatures 35 million years old discovered in eastern Turkey

17 August 2021

17 August 2021

In Turkey’s eastern province of Mus, a team of researchers discovered fossils of sea creatures estimated to be 35 million...

Archaeologists in northern Spanish have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text

15 November 2022

15 November 2022

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text, on  Irulegi archaeological site, near the Aranguren...

The Catacombs of Commodilla in Rome will open to the public for the first time

21 September 2022

21 September 2022

The fourth-century Catacombs of Commodilla in Rome’s Garbatella district will reopen to the public soon after the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission...

The Mystery of the Scythian Ice Maiden

1 June 2021

1 June 2021

A mummy of a tattooed Scythian-Siberian noblewoman is believed to have supernatural powers, but it’s stored in a museum because...

Archaeologists have uncovered oldest Roman forum in Hispania, at the site of a named unknown city

3 September 2023

3 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient Roman forum from more than 2,000 years ago at the site of an unknown city...