Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient, mostly Hebrew, manuscripts (of leather, papyrus, and copper) first found in 1947 on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is among the more important finds in the history of modern archaeology. Study of the scrolls has enabled scholars to push back the date of a stabilized Hebrew Bible to no later than 70 ce, to help reconstruct the history of Palestine from the 4th century bce to 135 ce, and to cast new light on the emergence of Christianity and of rabbinic Judaism and on the relationship between early Christian and Jewish religious traditions.

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Dead Sea Scrolls - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)

In 1947 a young shepherd found some ancient scrolls (rolled-up writings) in a cave in Jordan. More scrolls were found nearby soon afterward. Now they are all known as the Dead Sea Scrolls because they were found near the Dead Sea. They are important because some of the scrolls contain parts of one of the earliest versions of the Hebrew Bible. Others are writings of the Jewish people who lived in the area more than 2,000 years ago.

Dead Sea Scrolls - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

One of the greatest archaeological finds of modern times, the Dead Sea Scrolls are the remains of about 800-900 ancient manuscripts found in some 15,000 fragments. They take their name from where they were found: in 11 caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, near the ruins of Qumran. Among the scrolls are fragments from nearly all the books of the Hebrew Bible and various writings of an ancient Jewish sect. Similar finds at other nearby sites are sometimes also called Dead Sea Scrolls.