The Israel Museum in partnership with Google have just made five of the eight the dead sea scrolls available online. Prior to the completion of this project, the scrolls could only be viewed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Now they can be searched and read through here.
The manuscripts were discovered between 1947 and 1956 on the Northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Written in Aramaic, Greek, and Hebrew, they date between 150 BCE and 70 CE. The scrolls were likely hidden in caves when the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
“We are privileged to house in the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book the best preserved and most complete Dead Sea Scrolls ever discovered. They are of paramount importance among the touchstones of monotheistic world heritage, and they represent unique highlights of our Museum’s encyclopedic holdings. Now, through our partnership with Google, we are able to bring these treasures to the broadest possible public,” said James S. Snyder, Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of the Israel Museum.