Archaeologists have uncovered a new cave that once housed Dead Sea Scrolls.
This is a discovery described as one of the “most important” in 60 years.
The Hebrew University in Jerusalem said the scrolls were missing from the cave.
The Dead Sea Scrolls include the oldest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible.
These date from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE.
About 900 scrolls were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in the Qumran caves above the Dead Sea.
The parchment and papyrus scrolls contain Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic writing, and include several of the earliest-known texts from the Bible.
This is including the oldest surviving copy of the Ten Commandments.
This discovery of a 12th cave could revolutionise the information and herald most important” discoveries since 1956.
The cave discovered west of Qumran in the occupied West Bank contained no manuscripts, but there is ample evidence of their earlier presence.
This includes fragments of pottery in which they were placed and the leather straps.
Many of the caves containing the manuscripts were looted in the 1950s.
