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The Dead Sea Scrolls have been deteriorating ever since their discovery. Removing them from the dark and dry, naturally preserving environment of the caves began the process, and mistakes and mistreatment over the years have exacerbated the problem. The renewed, worldwide public interest in the scrolls in the last few years, however, has spurred new efforts to halt the deterioration.
At the Shrine of the Book, on the grounds of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the most complete and beautiful of the Qumran scrolls, as well as a large amount of material from the Bar-Kokhba caves and Masada, are fairly well cared for. Scientists from the Getty Conservation Institute have been assisting the conservators at the Shrine of the Book for several years. Current preservation efforts are focusing on two projects. The first is the design of a new display case for the scrolls, one that will have a virtually oxygen-free atmosphere and carefully regulated temperature and humidity. The other project is a study to discover why the scroll known as Genesis Apocryphon is deteriorating so rapidly (possible reasons include the composition of the parchment or the ink). This study is a prerequisite to any attempt to halt the process because any ill-guided effort might do more harm than good. Discussions are now being held to expand the Getty’s role in providing help and advice concerning the preservation of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The situation is far worse at the Rockefeller Museum (formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum), where tens of thousands of scroll fragments, including most of the unpublished material, are stored. Photos from the early years, when the museum was under Jordanian control, show sunlight streaming into the room where the scrolls were kept and show at least one scholar handling the fragments while smoking. In time, the fragments were organized into groups, and each group was placed between two pieces of glass (plates), thus protecting them from dust and fingers and allowing the front and back sides to be seen. This system had the disadvantage, however, of preventing scholars from easily rearranging the pieces to try to improve the reconstruction of a text.
The current presentation effort at the Rockefeller Museum involves gluing the fragments from each plate onto a sheet of ricepaper (one sheet per plate). The glue employed is made from the dust of deteriorated scrolls and is therefore most compatible with the fragments’ parchment. This technique has the advantage of slowing or halting the fragments’ destruction, but unfortunately covers up the backs of the scrolls and also places the fragments into a permanent configuration that may not always be correct. Although experts disagree about the use of this method, they generally agree that something must be done, because the scrolls continue to deteriorate. At the present rate, however, this project will take another 10 to 20 years to complete, possibly leading to the loss of much material in the intervening years.
The scrolls themselves are not alone in their need for preservation. Preserving the original photographic negatives, taken in the 1960s and already deteriorating, is almost as important as preserving the scrolls, because the photos in many cases show parts of the scrolls that have since decayed. A major step toward preservation of the negatives was recently made by a team from the Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center, working in cooperation with the Shrine of the Book (see “Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center Contributes to Photographic Preservation of Dead Sea Photos,” in this issue).
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been deteriorating ever since their discovery. Removing them from the dark and dry, naturally preserving environment of the caves began the process, and mistakes and mistreatment over the years have exacerbated the problem. The renewed, worldwide public interest in the scrolls in the last few years, however, has spurred new efforts to halt the deterioration. At the Shrine of the Book, on the grounds of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the most complete and beautiful of the Qumran scrolls, as well as a large amount of material from the Bar-Kokhba caves and Masada, are […]