The Dead Sea
Scrolls are ancient
manuscripts that
were discovered in
caves along the
northwestern shore
of the Dead Sea,
the lowest spot on
earth.
The Dead Sea from Qumran
The scrolls were found in limestone cliffs,
and in marl caves.
These caves are
found in the
Qumran plateau
located at the Wadi
Qumran.
They are:
A collection of 931 documents
Oldest copies of the Old Testament
Jewish sectarian writings
Composed in Hebrew,
Aramaic, and Greek
Produced between
250 BC and AD 68
Hidden in Judean desert
caves before AD 68 Scroll Jar
In the 1940’s, shepherds
of the Ta’amirah
Bedouin tribe were
tending their goat herds
in the Judean desert.
There, shepherds
stumbled upon caves
containing the Dead Sea
Scrolls.
Scroll From Cave 1
Ta’amireh shepherd Muhammed al-Asi
(pictured right) was part of the group of
Bedouin who searched
for a lost goat in
the 1940’s.
The Bedouin threw a
rock into an upper cave
opening to scare the
goat out of the cave;
he heard the sound of
breaking pottery.