Qumran

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

The vast majority of material was lost after a 2025 murder. All that remains is a small amount of dust collected from the floor and a few samples preserved by the Jones family.

|ByJOSH ARONSON
A cave in the Qumran area of the Dead Sea region.
A fragment of a 2,000-year-old Psalms Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls collection; illustrative.

One of the Dead Sea Scrolls' greatest mysteries may have finally been solved by Israeli researcher

For decades, scholars have wondered if Qumran’s 364-day year calender had ever been used in practice or if it served only as a theoretical framework.

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
A fragment of a 2,000-year-old Psalms Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls collection; illustrative.

New AI-powered research project aims to uncover the origins of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Research methods will include state-of-the-art chemical, artificial intelligence, paleographical, and codicological analysis of approximately 250 samples of the scrolls from the IAA's collection.

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
A restorer works on a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls in a laboratory at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem

Thoughts on viewing the Great Isaiah Scroll - opinion

There is much more to be learned about the history of the Hebrew nation, its literature, and even geography from the Great Isaiah Scroll.

|ByYISRAEL MEDAD

Cairo Genizah paper may hold key to secrets of Qumran, Dead Sea Scrolls

An ancient religious ceremony, described in several Dead Sea Scrolls, could explain the mysteries of the archaeological site of Qumran.

AUGUST 29, 2021ByROSSELLA TERCATIN
The site of the Qumran Scrolls, known as the Dead Sea Scrolls

Last member of original Dead Sea Scrolls research team dies from COVID-19

The Qumran explorer was 91 years old.

JANUARY 10, 2021ByHANNAH BROWN
A restorer works on a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls in a laboratory at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem

DNA analysis of Dead Sea Scrolls unveils their once secret origin

“We came up with the idea of using the genetic information of the skin they were written on to investigate the possible connection between different fragments."

JUNE 2, 2020ByROSSELLA TERCATIN
Jeramiah Scroll

University of Haifa researchers decipher mysterious Dead Sea Scroll

“An important peculiarity of the present discovery is the fact that the [Qumran] sect followed a 364-day calendar."

JANUARY 21, 2018ByDANIEL K. EISENBUD
The reconstructed scroll in infrared

Les manuscrits de la mer Morte et la question juive

Pour l’Allemagne, les rouleaux de Qumran n’appartiennent pas à Israël

DECEMBER 10, 2017ByMICHELE MAZEL
Des fragments des manuscrits de la mer Morte