Category:Qumran Studies--1940s

Overview

The initial discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls took place between November 1946 and February 1947. Bedouin shepherds discovered 7 scrolls housed in jars in a cave now known as Cave 1, near the Qumran site. The Bedouin contacted some dealers in the hope of selling the manuscripts.

In 1947 the scrolls caught the attention of John C. Trever, of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR). On 11 April 1948, Millar Burrows, head of the ASOR, announced the discovery of the scrolls in a general press release.

In 1948, the government of Jordan finally gave permission to the Arab Legion to search the area where the original Qumran cave was thought to be. Consequently, Cave 1 was rediscovered on 28 January 1949, by Belgian United Nations observer Captain Phillipe Lippens and Arab Legion Captain Akkash el-Zebn. A preliminary excavation of the Cave was conducted from 15 February to 5 March 1949 by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities led by Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux. Additional Dead Sea Scroll fragments, linen cloth, jars, and other artifacts were recovered.