Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran Cave 1

Record summary

Bedouin shepherds reportedly found ancient scrolls in a cave near Qumran in 1947, initiating the modern study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The manuscripts include biblical, sectarian, legal, poetic and apocalyptic compositions in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. They matter for comparing Second Temple Judaism, textual transmission and the relationship between manuscripts and nearby settlement archaeology. The circumstances of the initial find were reconstructed retrospectively, and early ownership, excavation and publication histories were contested. The scrolls are securely ancient, but interpretations of their authors and community remain debated.