Months of testing confirm earlier suspicions that the fragments were made in modern times. What happens next?
The Museum of the Bible houses 16 purported Dead Sea Scroll fragments, including this piece of the Book of Genesis. A new scientific investigation funded by the Museum of the Bible has confirmed that all 16 fragments are modern forgeries.
Washington, D.C.On the fourth floor of the Museum of the Bible, a sweeping permanent exhibit tells the story of how the ancient scripture became the world’s most popular book. A warmly lit sanctum at the exhibit’s heart reveals some of the museum’s most prized possessions: fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient texts that include the oldest known surviving copies of the Hebrew Bible.
But now, the Washington, D.C. museum has confirmed a bitter truth about the fragments’ authenticity. On Friday, independent researchers funded by the Museum of the Bible announced that all 16 of the museum’s Dead Sea Scroll fragments are modern forgeries that duped outside collectors, the museum’s founder, and some of the world’s leading biblical scholars. Officials unveiled the