After doing extensive imaging and scientific analysis, antiquities experts have conclusively determined as forgeries all of the 16 historic Dead Sea Scroll fragments acquired by the billionaire Green family for their $500-million Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. Their 200-page report released this weekend revealed how the forgeries fooled scholars and buyers on the antiquities market.
IMAGE CREDIT: SCREENSHOT FROM CNN.COM VIDEOColette Loll, the director of Art Fraud Insights who led the investigation, said in a statement: “It is evident that none of the textual fragments in Museum of the Bible's Dead Sea Scroll collection are authentic. Moreover, each [fragment] exhibits characteristics that suggest they are deliberate forgeries created in the twentieth century with the intent to mimic authentic Dead Sea Scroll fragments.”
The Dead Sea Scrolls, most of which are kept at the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, were discovered 70 years ago in caves around Qumran and are among archaeology’s most significant scriptural finds. They contain the oldest versions of the Hebrew Bible and other Jewish texts that date to the time of Jesus.
Some scholars estimate that as many as 70 forged fragments, purportedly part of the Dead Sea Scrolls, have hit the market since 2002. Revelations about the Green's collection could raise more questions about ancient biblical artifacts bought by other evangelicals, often for millions of dollars.
Read the full story of “How forgers fooled the Bible museum with fake Dead Sea Scroll fragments” in the March 15, 2020 issue of CNN.com now!
