When Were the Dead Sea Scrolls Discovered?

In late 1946 or early 1947, Bedouin shepherd Muhammad edh-Dhib stumbled upon clay jars containing ancient scrolls in a cave near Qumran. Between 1947 and 1956, about 15,000 fragments from roughly 981 manuscripts were found in 11 caves. The scrolls date from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE and include the oldest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), hundreds of years older than any previously known copies. They also contain previously unknown religious texts, community rules, and commentaries. The scrolls are attributed to a Jewish sect, possibly the Essenes, who lived at Qumran. Their significance is immense: they show that the Hebrew Bible text was remarkably well preserved over 2,000 years, while also revealing the diversity of Jewish belief in the Second Temple period. The scrolls are housed in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Initial publication was agonisingly slow, but all texts have been available since the 1990s.