Ancient text said to solve mystery of why Dead Sea Scrolls were placed in Qumran
(Worthy News) – A more than 1,000-year-old document from a collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts may explain why so many of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been uncovered in the caves of the Qumran region near the Dead Sea, according to researchers from Ben Gurion University.
The paper in question, known as the “Damascus Document,” is part of the Cairo Geniza, a collection of hundreds of thousands of ancient documents discovered in Cairo’s Ben Ezra Synagogue in the 19th century.
In a new study, Ben Gurion University archaeologist Daniel Vainstub and his team of researchers argue that the Damascus Document shows Qumran was the site of an annual ceremony known as the Covenant of Renewal, where the ancient, mystical Jewish sect known as the Essenes would gather from towns across the Land of Israel. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]