Inside the tragic, decades-long mystery of Qumran's lost Second Temple incense

The man who led the search was Vandal Jones (1930-2010), a theologian and Christian who adopted a convenient identity. Jones devoted his life to deciphering the “Copper Scroll” found at Qumran in 1952, which he believed contained a road map to the hidden treasures of the Second Temple.

Jones was not an academic archaeologist in the classical sense, but in the field, he was considered exceptionally skilled and dedicated. He believed that the scroll was not just a text, but an accurate geographical description, and he devoted years to studying the terrain and synchronizing the verses with the desert geology.

In 1989, after years of Sisyphean work, the breakthrough came when a volunteer on the team, Del Griffin, discovered a hidden cave entrance in an area known as “The Cave of the Twins.” Excavations there in 1992 revealed a complex structure of channels, stone silos, and protective layers of clay, and beneath them - the red powder that has become the focus of global interest.

He found that the material is organic, alkaline, and contains chemical components that match the components of incense.

In 1994, Dr. Terry Hutter, an expert in palynology (the study of pollen grains), took the research a step further. Through microscopic examinations, he found remains of plants such as saffron, cinnamon, frankincense, myrrh, and other plants that appear in the sources as ingredients of incense.

The discovery that these plants were ground to such a high level of precision and were exceptionally well preserved in the cave's vacuum conditions added a layer of credibility to the team's claim.

Jones' decision to hold a press conference on May 8, 1992, before an official report had been submitted to the antiquities authorities, was a negative turning point.

The antiquities authorities, who had initially opposed Jones' methodology, reacted harshly: the excavation permit was revoked, and the finds were classified by some as "ordinary soil."

The conflict between Jones, who saw himself as uncovering historical and spiritual truth, and the academic establishment, which focused on standards of documentation and oversight, became bitter and ongoing, to the point of police intervention in 1995.

The sad story of the finds lies in the failure to preserve them in an institutional setting. While the incense was considered a sacred artifact by the team, it was kept in makeshift containers in private homes and later in a shelter. In the settlement of Ma'ale Lavona.

Without proper records and without continuous scientific supervision, large quantities of the material began to disappear.

The tragedy reached its peak in May 2025, with the murder of Sarah Richardson, the last custodian of the finds. Searches conducted after her death revealed that the vast majority of the material had been lost, probably after being evacuated during the evacuation of shelters during the war, without the workers knowing that it was an artifact of immense historical and religious value.

The only remains left are a small amount of dust collected from the floor and a few samples preserved by the Jones family and his associates.

Today, the Qumran Project, led by Perry Antelman, aims to close the circle. Using the original laboratory samples and the small remains collected, the project plans a series of modern tests - from mass spectrometry to carbon-14 analysis - In order to definitively determine the age and exact composition of the material.

In the world of archaeology, the debate over the Qumran incense remains a minefield of conflicting opinions. While critics point to a lack of proper documentation and the possibility of industrial remnants from the period, those who follow Jones' path see it as the most tangible evidence ever left of the temple service.

Whether it is temple incense or not, the findings found in the cave remain powerful evidence of the human yearning to bring back to the surface pieces of a distant past, which many see not only as history, but also as a promise for the future.

This week, a new book about the project was published, and the book about the story was made available for free download on the project's dedicated website.

"There were a number of reasons why we felt it was important to tell this story now," said Rhonda Attar, a member of the Qumran Project and the book's editor.

"Many of the people who lived this story are getting older, and after Sarah Richardson, the last custodian of the remaining material, was murdered last year, there was a real sense of urgency. We understood that the history, the first-hand accounts, and the existing evidence had to be documented while we had the opportunity to do so properly. At the same time, we are moving forward with new scientific analysis of the remaining material, which makes it even more important that the historical background and the documented record are clear.”