Difference between revisions of "Category:Qumran Studies--1950s"

"Biblical Manuscripts for sale" (The Wall Street Journal, 1 June 1954)

The Palestine Archaeological Museum in East Jerusalem

The "Scrollery" Room at the Palestine Archaeological Museum with (left to right) Patrick Skehan, John Strugnell, and John Marco Allegro

The building of the former Ottoman Bank, Jerusalem. In its vault the Dead Sea Scrolls from the Palestine Archaeological Museum were stored during the Suez Canal Crisis, 1956-57

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Qumran Studies in the 1950s--Works and Authors

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Overview

In 1950 Millar Burrows, with the assistance of John C. Trever and William H. Brownlee, published the complete Isaiah Scroll, the Habakkuk Commentary and the Community Rule from Cave 1, without revealing the exact origin and provenience of the manuscripts. The negotiations for the purchase of the manuscripts were still open and there were concerns about their unclear legal state. Eventually, the son of Eleazar Sukenik and Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin was able to purchase the four manuscripts from cave 1, advertised for sale by the Syrian Metropolitan Archbishop in a famous ad on the Wall Street Journal on June 1, 1954. The seven scrolls from Cave 1 were now reunited under the ownership of the new State of Israel.

In the meantime, in November 1951, Roland de Vaux and his team from the ASOR began a full excavation of Qumran and the surrounding area. The finding of identical jars in Cave 1 and at the site of Qumran suggested a close archaeological connection. In early 1952 a new cave (Cave 2) with new fragments was discovered by the Bedouin and on March 14 archaeologists first entered Cave 3. It became a race between the Bedouin and the archaeologists. In September-December 1952 Caves 4-5-6 were identified by the ASOR teams. Between 1953 and 1956, Roland de Vaux led four more archaeological expeditions in the area to uncover scrolls and artifacts. The last cave, Cave 11, was discovered in 1956 and yielded the last fragments to be found in the vicinity of Qumran. After 1956, no additional caves or scrolls were found in the area.

The majority of the newly-found fragments became property of the Palestine Archaeological Museum (commonly known as the Rockefeller Museum) in East Jerusalem and were stored there since 1953. The scrolls suffered deterioration and damage from their transportation and the poor storage conditions at the "Scrollery" of the Museum and during their temporary location in the Ottoman Bank vault from 1956 to the Spring of 1957 during the Suez Canal Crisis. Many of the fragments deteriorated to the point of becoming illegible. Fortunately, the Museum had all the material photographed by local Arab photographer Najib Albina.

In 1956 the decision was taken to open the Copper Scroll (found in 1952), by cutting it in small segments. The complex operation was carried out by Prof. James Baker at the University of Manchester. Shortly afterwards, the government of Jordan gave John Marco Allegro permission to search for the treasures described in the text, but with no results.

In 1957, Josef Milik offered a first general assessment of ten years of research on the scrolls. The Essene connection is firmly established and the scholarly interest focuses on the theological feature of the Qumran community and its implications on Christian Origins.