'These are the most important things in the world'
JERUSALEM (AP) — Parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are up for sale — in tiny pieces.
Nearly 70 years after the discovery of the world’s oldest biblical
manuscripts, the Palestinian family who originally sold them to scholars
and institutions is now quietly marketing the leftovers — fragments the
family says it has kept in a Swiss safe deposit box all these years.
Most of these scraps are barely postage-stamp-sized, and some are
blank. But in the last few years, evangelical Christian collectors and
institutions in the US have forked out millions of dollars for a chunk
of this archaeological treasure. This angers Israel’s government
antiquities authority, which holds most of the scrolls, claims that
every last scrap should be recognized as Israeli cultural property, and
threatens to seize any more pieces that hit the market.
“I told Kando many years ago, as far as I’m concerned, he can die
with those scrolls,” said Amir Ganor, head of the authority’s
anti-looting squad, speaking of William Kando, who maintains his
family’s Dead Sea Scrolls collection. “The scrolls’ only address is the
State of Israel.”
