In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd boy searching for a lost goat happened onto caves where ancient scrolls and records had been preserved in pottery jars. These were from the library of a Jewish group known as the Essenes, who lived near the Dead Sea at around the time of Christ. They valued their scriptures above all things, and when the Romans attacked their land at the time of the Jewish Revolt, they sealed up their records in these caves. Some were hastily buried without jars and survived only as fragments. Other scrolls are well-preserved and are virtually complete. These texts are nearly a thousand years older than any extant Biblical texts. It is interesting to note that the texts agree quite well with copies from which the modern-day Bible was extracted. Libraries of valuable early documents have been found in the previous century in Israel, in Egypt and in other ancient libraries uncovered recently. None of these had been discovered in the 1820s.
An archaeological dig found the ruins of Qumran, the community where the Essenes wrote and preserved these scrolls. They had an elaborate water system and pools for ritual cleansing or baptism in some form. Their scriptorium had long tables where scrolls could be copied.
Model of Qumran showing the pools and the rooms of the community center.
Ceramic jars similar to these were used to preserve the scrolls. The scrolls were mostly written on leather, though some were on parchment. At least one was on copper, which was a great challenge for opening in a form where it could be read. The copper scroll lists temple treasure. None of the treasure has been located.
Segments of the Great Isaiah Scroll. This 28-foot work contains all 66 chapters of the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah was highly prized at Qumran; several Isaiah scrolls were found in various states of preservation. Fragments or portions of every book of the Old Testament except for the Book of Esther have been found in the scrolls. Three long scroll segments are on display in this exhibition.
Ancient oil lamps, as referred to by Christ in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, are displayed in this case These will fit in a hand and can be carried to light one's way. The large hole accesses the chamber where oil was kept. A wick was inserted in the smaller hole. One of these lamps could burn for several hours. Some of these date to more than 1,000 years before Christ.
Roman coins and a sword blade found in the archaeological dig at Qumran. It is not known what happened to the residents there. Bodies were not discovered in the dig. All of the scriptures had been moved to the caves before the Romans arrived, though some had not been placed in linen and sealed with wax in jars, so they did not fare so well over the centuries as the ones which had been more carefully wrapped and sealed. These ancient records are too fragile to tour. Brigham Young University made careful replicas on leather by a photo-copying method which actually allows them to be read by anyone with Aramaic or Hebrew language skills. There are many posters showing blow-ups of some of the more interesting fragments, including demonstrating methods used to raise the lettering so it could be read on darkened and damaged scrolls fragments. This exhibition will be at the Hill Cumorah through the end of March, 2008. There is no charge to visitors.
In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd boy searching for a lost goat happened onto caves where ancient scrolls and records had been preserved in pottery jars. These were from the library of a Jewish group known as the Essenes, who lived near the Dead Sea at around the time of Christ. They valued their scriptures above all things, and when the Romans attacked their land at the time of the Jewish Revolt, they sealed up their records in these caves. Some were hastily buried without jars and survived only as fragments. Other scrolls are well-preserved and are virtually complete. These texts are nearly a thousand years older than any extant Biblical texts. It is interesting to note that the texts agree quite well with copies from which the modern-day Bible was extracted. Libraries of valuable early documents have been found in the previous century in Israel, in Egypt and in other ancient libraries uncovered recently. None of these had been discovered in the 1820s.
An archaeological dig found the ruins of Qumran, the community where the Essenes wrote and preserved these scrolls. They had an elaborate water system and pools for ritual cleansing or baptism in some form. Their scriptorium had long tables where scrolls could be copied.
Model of Qumran showing the pools and the rooms of the community center. 
Ceramic jars similar to these were used to preserve the scrolls. The scrolls were mostly written on leather, though some were on parchment. At least one was on copper, which was a great challenge for opening in a form where it could be read. The copper scroll lists temple treasure. None of the treasure has been located.
Segments of the Great Isaiah Scroll. This 28-foot work contains all 66 chapters of the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah was highly prized at Qumran; several Isaiah scrolls were found in various states of preservation. Fragments or portions of every book of the Old Testament except for the Book of Esther have been found in the scrolls. Three long scroll segments are on display in this exhibition.
Ancient oil lamps, as referred to by Christ in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, are displayed in this case These will fit in a hand and can be carried to light one's way. The large hole accesses the chamber where oil was kept. A wick was inserted in the smaller hole. One of these lamps could burn for several hours. Some of these date to more than 1,000 years before Christ.
Roman coins and a sword blade found in the archaeological dig at Qumran. It is not known what happened to the residents there. Bodies were not discovered in the dig. All of the scriptures had been moved to the caves before the Romans arrived, though some had not been placed in linen and sealed with wax in jars, so they did not fare so well over the centuries as the ones which had been more carefully wrapped and sealed. These ancient records are too fragile to tour. Brigham Young University made careful replicas on leather by a photo-copying method which actually allows them to be read by anyone with Aramaic or Hebrew language skills. There are many posters showing blow-ups of some of the more interesting fragments, including demonstrating methods used to raise the lettering so it could be read on darkened and damaged scrolls fragments. This exhibition will be at the Hill Cumorah through the end of March, 2008. There is no charge to visitors.
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