The Copper Scroll is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Khirbet Qumran, but differs significantly from the others. While they are written on leather or papyrus, this scroll is written on metal: copper mixed with about 1% tin. Unlike the others, it is not a literary work, but contains a listing of locations at which various items of gold and silver are buried or hidden. It is currently on display at the Archaeological Museum in Amman, Jordan. The treasure it describes is worth at least one billion dollars. History and origin The scroll was found in 1952 in Cave 3 at Qumran, the last of 15, and is thus referred to as 3Q15. Two copper rolls were discovered off by themselves in the back of the cave. The metal being corroded, they could not be unrolled by conventional means. Professor H. Wright Baker, of the College of Technology at Manchester, England, cut the sheets into strips. It then became clear that the rolls were part of the same document. Low-quality photographs of the scrolls were taken and published. Scholars have found these to be difficult to work with, and have relied on a drawing of the text by scholar Józef Milik published in 1962. Another scholar, John Marco Allegro, published his translation in 1960. The scroll was rephotographed in 1988 with clearer precision, under an effort led by P. Kyle McCarter, Jr. Writing style The style of writing is unusual, different from the other scrolls. It is written in a style similar to Mishnaic Hebrew. There is an unusual orthography, and the script has the features resulting from someone writing on copper with a stylus. There is also the anomaly that seven of the names of locations are followed by a group of two or three Greek letters. The text is a listing of sixty-four locations; sixty-three of which are treasures of gold and silver, which have been estimated in the tons. The final listing points to a duplicate document with additional details. Some scholars believe that this document could be the Silver Scroll - a scroll which archaeologists are still searching for in the Palestinian desert. Scholars hold that the text was perhaps copied from another original document by an illiterate scribe who did not speak the language in which the scroll was written. Perhaps this was done so that the secrecy of the content of the text would be preserved. This scribe made a total of about thirty errors or mistakes in the copying of the text, mistakes that someone familiar with the original language would not have made. The listings are a challenge to decipher. They contain city and street names. Only one of the treasures has been unearthed - a vase of anointing oil that dates back to the time of the First or Second Tabernacle and may have been used in ceremonial blessings in Jerusalem. There is some dispute, however, that the Cave of Letters might have contained one of the listed treasures , and if the artifacts from this location may have been recovered. Although the scroll was obviously made of alloyed copper in order to last, the locations are written as if the reader would have an intimate knowledge of obscure references — e.g., "In the irrigation cistern(?) of the Shaveh (שוה Shaveh, "adj. equal, even, level; worth; peer; same, alike" the King's Valley, the valley where the king of Sodom met Abram after a battle), in the outlet that is in it, buried at eleven cubits: 70 talents of silver" (from Allegro's translation), or "In the cave that is next to the fountain belonging to the House of Hakkoz, dig six cubits. (There are) six bars of gold" (from McCarter's translation) (see also Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement). Claims The treasure of the scroll has been assumed to be treasure of the Jewish Temple, presumably the Second Temple. Professor McCarter makes a tentative identification of one location, found on the property of the "House of Hakkoz", with the family of Hakkoz being treasurers of the rebuilt Temple, following the return from Babylon, as listed in the Biblical Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The theories of the origin of the treasure were broken down by Theodor H. Gaster: - First, the treasure could be that of the Qumran community. The difficulty here is that the community is assumed to be an ascetic brotherhood, with which vast treasures are difficult to reconcile.
- Secondly, the treasure could be that of the Second Temple. However, Gaster cites Jewish historian Flavius Josephus as stating that the main treasure of the Temple was still in the building when it fell to the Romans, and also that other Qumranic texts appear to be too critical of the priesthood of the Temple for their authors to have been close enough to take away their treasures for safekeeping.
- Thirdly, the treasure could be that of the First Temple, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon, in 586 BC. This would not seem to fit with the character of the other scrolls, unless perhaps the scroll was left in a cave during the Babylonian Exile, possibly with a small community of caretakers who were precursors of the Dead Sea Scrolls community.
- Fourthly, Gaster's own favourite theory is that the treasure is a hoax. If so, it is an elaborate hoax by an ancient people not known primarily for their sense of humor.
The idea of ancient, lost, hidden treasures in The Holy Land is not without fascination. The Second Book of Maccabees describes the prophet Jeremiah bringing the Ark of the Covenant and other items to be hidden in a cave on Mount Nebo. The very matter-of-factness of the listings in the Copper Scroll would seem to indicate that somewhere in the area from Hebron [ ] to Mount Gerizim there might just be some treasure, if it has not already been discovered within the last 2000 years. Media The Copper Scroll is the subject of bestselling political thriller, The Copper Scroll, by Joel C. Rosenberg, published in 2006. This book implements its author's theory that the treasures listed in the Copper Scroll (and the Ark of the Covenant) will be found in the End Times to refurnish the Third Temple. It also features in Sean Young's novel, Violent Sands. In this Historical Novel, Barabbas is the sworn protector of the Copper Scroll and the treasure it points to. He is under orders to protect this document at all costs. The scroll--and a search for its treasures-- was featured in a 2007 episode of The History Channel's Digging For The Truth. This program gives a basic knowledge of the research of the Copper Scroll and the major theories of its interpretation. References - John M. Allegro (1960). The Treasure of the Copper Scroll. Garden City, NY, Doubleday.
- Hershel Shanks, ed. (1992). Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York, Random House. ISBN 0-679-41448-7.
- Robert Feather (2003). The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran". Bear & Company. ISBN 1-59143-014-3.
- Theodor H. Gaster (1976). The Dead Sea Scriptures. Peter Smith Pub Inc. ISBN 0-8446-6702-1.
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