Charred ancient scroll deciphered
By Steve Bryan
Advanced technologies have made it possible to read parts of a scroll unearthed during archaeological excavations in 1970. The scroll, containing the text of the Book of Leviticus, was stored 1500 years ago inside the Holy Ark of the Ein Gedi synagugue, and was completely burned.
Dr. Sefi Porath, the scroll’s discoverer at Ein Gedi said, “The deciphering of the scroll, which was a puzzle for us for 45 years, is very exciting. Ein Gedi was a Jewish village in the Byzantine period (fourth–seventh century CE) and had a synagogue with an exquisite mosaic floor and a Holy Ark. The settlement was completely burnt to the ground, and none of its inhabitants ever returned to reside there again, or to pick through the ruins in order to salvage valuable property.”
Porath went on to say, “In the archaeological excavations of the burnt synagogue, we found, in addition to the charred scroll fragments, a bronze seven-branched candelabrum (menorah), the community’s money box containing c. 3,500 coins, glass and ceramic oil lamps, and vessels that held perfume.”
This is the most ancient of the five books of the Hebrew Bible to be found since the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the late 1940s. Scientists estimate that the scrolls, widely considered the oldest written biblical fragments, date between the third century B.C. and 70 A.D.
Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) curator and director of IAA’s Dead Sea Scrolls Projects Pnina Shor called it “a really big discovery…. After the Dead Sea Scrolls, this has been the most significant find of an ancient Bible.” The five centimeter (two-inch) cylindrical object was on display at the news conference.
He added, “Now, not only can we bequeath the Dead Sea Scrolls to future generations, but also a part of the Bible from a Holy Ark of a 1,500-year old synagogue.”
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