BP Editors
In 1947, two Bedouin goat-herders literally fell into a cave along the Dead Sea by the West Band in Palestine. There they made an astonishing discovery: fragments of scrolls from nearly 2000 years ago, along with a handful of pottery, cloth, and wood from an ancient settlement, called Qumran. The scrolls are generally believed to have belonged to a Jewish sect called the Essenes, though others argue that they might have belonged to other sects, such as the Sadducees, Pharisees, or Zealots. Nearby caves yielded other treasures, including more fragments of scrolls, parchments, and papyrus.
The scrolls had been hidden in clay jars during a time when the Roman military was actively trying to destroy both Jewish culture and the nascent Christian movement. The archaeological site of Qumran had been razed by Romans in 67 AD, and ash found at the site confirmed that amongst its ruins were other scrolls and books.
