The Dead Sea Scrolls

In early 1947, a Bedouin shepherd named Muhammed edh-Dhib was searching for a lost goat near the cliffs of the Dead Sea. To check a narrow cave opening, he threw a rock inside. Instead of an animal, he heard the sharp sound of breaking pottery. Curious, he climbed in and discovered a stunning secret. Tucked inside tall clay jars and wrapped in linen were seven ancient parchment scrolls. They had been perfectly preserved by the dry desert air for nearly two thousand years, waiting silently in the dark. The shepherd had no idea he was holding manuscripts that would rewrite history, including a nearly complete copy of the Book of Isaiah. He sold them to an antiquities dealer for about twenty-eight dollars.