Newly discovered caves may hold more Dead Sea Scrolls

Archaeologists believe a pair of recently discovered caves at the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found may contain additional religious texts from antiquity. Though no new manuscripts have yet been unearthed in the newly discovered caves at Qumran, archaeologists have discovered a number of objects indicating scrolls were stored there, among them jars, wrappings, and possible scroll fragments. “Our hope is that if we keep digging, we hit the mother lode,” explained archaeologist Randall Price, a professor at Liberty University, who is leading the dig at Qumran along with Oren Gutfeld of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Recent Findings at Cave 53 and Cave 53b

The team discovered Cave 53, the twelfth such cave of its kind to be found at Qumran, and though no scrolls were found there, researchers found a blank piece parchment and storage jars identical to those discovered in other caves. Next to that cave, archaeologists uncovered Cave 53b in January and came across a bronze cooking pot dating to the first century BCE and a nearly intact oil lamp from the Hellenistic-Hasmonean period. They also found pottery such as storage vessels, cups, and cooking pots, as well as pieces of textiles, braided ropes, and string.

“The significance of this discovery involves the new evidence it provides that the caves south of Qumran represent sealed loci, despite the attempts by Bedouin to loot these sites,” Price and Gutfeld wrote. They also noted the relation of these caves to the Qumran community, and how the scroll cave found in 2017 is associated with the new cave found in 2018.

Summary of Archaeological Findings

Location	Artifacts Discovered
Cave 53	Blank piece parchment and storage jars identical to those in other caves.
Cave 53b	Bronze cooking pot (1st century BCE), oil lamp (Hellenistic-Hasmonean), textiles, and braided ropes.
General Site	Jars, wrappings, and possible scroll fragments.

Historical Context of the Qumran Caves

The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of 2,000-year-old Hebrew and Aramaic scrolls, were found 70 years ago by a Bedouin shepherd in cliffs near the Dead Sea. In total, 900 manuscripts and up to 50,000 fragments were uncovered in 11 caves. They are believed to have been written sometime between 150 BCE and the destruction of the Second Temple during the Roman conquest in 70 CE by the Essenes, an ascetic sect from that period.

One of the figures identified in the history of the discovery is Muhammad ed-Dhib, the person usually credited with the initial discovery of the first three scrolls. During the excavations of Khirbet Qumran that began in November 1951, the Bedouin played an important role. While scholars often portray the discovery of the scrolls as “archaeologists in a race against the Bedouin,” it is also the case that projects employed many Bedouin workers to uncover these ancient scripts.

Current Research and Challenges

Since 1967, the State of Israel has been the repository for the vast majority of the scrolls. However, modern researchers face new challenges; for instance, the Museum of the Bible in the US announced that five Dead Sea Scroll fragments from its collection were proven forgeries. Consequently, other global institutions and private collectors are now likewise struggling with how to address their own questionable fragments.