The scroll excerpts contain verses from the books of the prophets Zechariah and Nahum. The scrolls are written in Greek.
Archaeologists have been working in the caves and cliffs of the Judean Desert since 2017 as part of a “national operation to prevent the looting of antiquities,” the press release said.
The basket shown here is considered the oldest complete specimen in the world. Credit: Yaniv Berman / Israel Antiquities Authority
Teams also found a 6,000-year-old child’s skeleton, rare coins, and a complete basket believed to be the oldest in the world, dating back 10,500 years.
Discovered 70 years ago in caves around Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most important Scriptural finds in archeology and contain the oldest versions of the Hebrew Bible and other Jewish texts dating back to the time of Jesus. Most scrolls are kept in the Shrine of the Book, part of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Archaeologists also found these rare coins. Credit: Ofer Sion / Israel Antiquities Authority
The latest scroll fragments were found in the Cave of Horror, which lies about 80 meters below a cliff in the Judean Desert. It can only be reached by rappelling from the top.
Since the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered more than 70 years ago, the area has attracted the attention of looters, the press release said. Due to the climatic conditions in the area, scrolls and old documents have been exceptionally well preserved.
“The goal of this national initiative is to rescue this rare and important heritage from the clutches of the robbers,” said Israel Hasson, director of the Israel’s Antiquities Authority, who called for more resources to complete the recovery operation.
The site is known as the Cave of Horror. Credit: Eitan Klein / Israel Antiquities Authority
“We have to make sure we recover any data that hasn’t been discovered in the caves before the robbers do. Some things aren’t valuable.”
Hananya Hizmi, Chief Staff Officer in the Archeology Department of the Civil Administration in the West Bank, said this was “an exciting moment” and that the results of the operation shed more light on the history of the region.
“The finds attest to a rich, diverse and complex way of life, as well as to the harsh climatic conditions that prevailed in the region hundreds and thousands of years ago,” said Hizmi.
As of October 2017, teams have explored 80 kilometers (49.7 miles) of desert caves, many of which are virtually inaccessible, the press release said.
Eleven lines of text have been reconstructed, including parts of a Greek translation of Zechariah 8: 16-17. In another excerpt, verses from Nahum 1: 5-6 were identified.
Archaeologists had to rappel into the Cave of Horror. Credit: Eitan Klein / Israel Antiquities Authority
Archaeologists also discovered the partially mummified skeleton of a 6-12-year-old child buried in a shallow pit under two flat stones and wrapped in dust, which is 6,000 years old.
“It was clear that whoever buried the child had wrapped him up and pushed the edges of the fabric under him, just like a parent covers his child in a blanket,” said Ronit Lupu, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority.
“ The child’s skeleton and fabric wrapping were remarkably well preserved, and because of the climatic conditions in the cave, a process of natural mummification had taken place; the skin, tendons, and even hair had been partially preserved, despite the passage of time. “
Centuries of a warm and dry climate mean that the large basket, with a capacity of 90-100 liters and made of plant material, can provide new insight into how products were stored about 1,000 years before the invention of pottery, the press release said.