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High-tech treasure hunt. X-rays of the Copper Scroll (see close-up) allow Father Émile Puech of the École Biblique in Jerusalem to read one of the most enigmatic Dead Sea Scrolls. Although the only metal scroll found at Qumran had badly deteriorated from oxidation, almost every letter appears distinctly in the new X-rays, prepared by the French Electric Company. The scroll lists 64 hiding places for portions of treasure, primarily gold and silver. Although early scholars argued that the treasure is imaginary, most now agree that the scroll is a list of real treasure, probably from the Jerusalem Temple, secreted in preparation for the Roman attack on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Puech now offers another theory: The wealth belonged to the Essenes, the Jewish sect who many believe lived at Qumran and left their scrolls in the adjacent caves.