Israeli researchers announce discovery of new Dead Sea scroll fragments

originally posted by: McGinty

originally posted by: gortex
the cave was given its name as it's only accessible by rappelling down a sheer cliff

First thing that this makes me wonder is, how did they get the scrolls into the cave? Ok, I guess there’s no reason why they couldn’t have been as good, if not better than contemporary climbers with adequate rope.

Qumran Caves are located in exposed limestone. In very simple terms, cliff paths erode - especially over two thousand years when made of soft stone. Added to which, it's very inaccessability is one of the major attractions for hiding things there.

a reply to: Flavian

Hi Flav you seem to know your thing when it comes to the past days, do you have any idea what happened to the actual people who hid the religious texts?

Maybe they got caught by the Romans, maybe they blended into the population, there's always the possibility they made it overseas maybe close by in the Mediterranean or even to Britain.

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

I honestly have no idea what happened to them. I always assumed it was tied in to the siege of Masada but some of the scrolls postdate that by a hundred years or so.

We do know that being a "Messiah" was almost an occupation in Judea - for example we know from records that at least one hundred were arrested for it (and often executed) the year Jesus was put on the cross. We also know that even until after Emperor Gallienus, Christians were periodically ruthlessly persecuted by Rome as they were almost official scapegoats - rebellion somewhere? Must be the Christians. Bad harvest? Must be the Christians, etc.

Given that, if I had to guess, I'd say they were hiding their treasures from the latest Roman persecution.

There is also the possibility that the age discrepancies are due to them being part of later deposits at Qumran.

a reply to: Flavian

Thanks so much for the insight Flavian your knowledge of this period is truly awesome. Gives us something to think about this evening. The people hiding the scrolls who were they, where were they running from, where did they go to. It's all awesome stuff. Sometimes I feel that the Bedouins around that region might have been the original scroll hiders, who then at a later stage converted to Islam like many Christians and indeed Jewish and guess but not checked it out other pagan types around the Holy Land region. Hiding in the desert from the Romans might have been the only option, for sure many were taken into slavery and many would have been killed. Not sure if they could have escaped out into the Mediterranean, whether the Romans had the sea pretty under their surveillance or not. Egypt could have been a possibility I guess, even Syria or north but maybe they were Roman at this time and they were trapped. At least in the desert they were on their own turf and had all these caves to hide out in.

Apparently they’ve found 6000 year old remains of a child in the cave. So it wasn’t built to hide the scrolls and was already in use in some fashion.

uk.yahoo.com...

(Apologies if this is already known in this thread - it’s news to me!)

"Are the newest Dead Sea Scrolls just the beginning?

Some 600 Judean Desert caves surveyed so far, Israeli Antiquities Authority's Eitan Klein tells 'Post' a day after discovery of first fragments in some 60 years unveiled"

www.jpost.com...