From Qumran to Rome

December 26, 2008 - 3:42 PM by Harry

Dead Sea scrolls get the boot The Dead Sea scrolls have recently become a great excuse for intensifying Israel’s relationship with Italy. The Italians have been in the business of preserving antiquities for far longer than the Zionists, and a team of scientists from the Italian Central Institute for Restoration has been working together with the Israel Antiquities Authority to restore, analyze and maintain the famous Bible fragments.

The scrolls were well-preserved when they sat in clay pots in Qumran’s dry caves for 2000 years, but in the 61 years since their discovery, they’ve undergone some wear and tear – even the Israel Museum’s strange-looking yet high-tech and emblematic Shrine of the Book seems to be a problematic home.

Considered one of the most the most significant archeological finds ever, many of the Dead Sea scrolls have been on tour of the world’s museums over the years (including, among others, the Library of Congress, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the San Diego Natural History Museum). So when Italian President Giorgio Napolitano came to Israel for a visit last month, to see first-hand how the restoration project is going, he used the opportunity to announce that many Dead Sea scrolls would soon be on display in Rome, telling Israel Antiquities Authority spokespeople, “I am extremely pleased with the cooperation and scientific ties that have been formed between our representatives in Italy and the IAA.”

Coverage of the visit and announcement in the Italian press included an estimate that the Rome exhibit would take place some time in 2009, as well as some good-old Israeli confidence.

”We are sure that the scrolls will arouse great interest in the Italian public,” [IAA spokesman Yoli] Schwartz said, adding that Napolitano had pledged to be ”the first visitor” to the show.

Photo of Napolitano examining a scroll that mentions the Ten Commandments courtesy of Clara Amit for the Israel Antiquities Authority.

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