ADOPT A SCROLL

Widely considered one of the most significant archaeological finds of all time, the Dead Sea Scrolls make up the tens of thousands of parchment and papyrus fragments written 2000 years ago belonging to approximately 1000 different texts, including the oldest known manuscripts of the five books of the Hebrew Bible. The Israel Antiquities Authority’s Dead Sea Scrolls Unit works to conserve, digitize, and study these scrolls, numbering more than 25,000 fragments, for future generations. In the early decades following the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars used tape to piece together fragments resulting in severe damage to the texts as the materials aged. Unfortunately, the methods used in the 1960s and 1970s to remove the adhesive and stains resulted in even further damage. Today, IAA conservators adhere to a strict international protocol for treating and preserving the scrolls. Each fragment requires unique treatment, often lengthy, depending on the nature and extent of its damage. 

Through the Friends of the IAA’s “Adopt a Scroll” program, conservation sponsorship can be made under the donor’s name or in tribute or in memory of a loved one. By adopting a scroll fragment, you are directly contributing to the preservation of one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of all time.