Museum admits some of its Dead Sea Scrolls are fake
- Massive cache of Hebrew documents was believed to date back to the days of Jesus
- The Museum of the Bible’s opening was mired in controversy
A US museum announced Monday that five artefacts it had said were fragments of the ancient manuscripts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls are in fact fake, and will no longer be displayed.
Washington’s Museum of the Bible – which stirred controversy last year for its financial backing from a billionaire evangelical Christian – removed the pieces from exhibition after a German research institution concluded that they weren’t old enough.
“Though we had hoped the testing would render different results, this is an opportunity to educate the public on the importance of verifying the authenticity of rare biblical artefacts, the elaborate testing process undertaken and our commitment to transparency,” the museum’s chief curator Jeffrey Kloha said in a statement.
“As an educational institution entrusted with cultural heritage, the museum upholds and adheres to all museum and ethical guidelines on collection care, research and display.”
The Dead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, date from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD.
Numbering around 900, they were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in the Qumran caves above the Dead Sea.