Unearthed (2016–…): Season 5, Episode 7 - Dead Sea Scrolls: The Dark Truth - full transcript

The Dead Sea scrolls --

mysterious texts from
the time of Jesus Christ

hidden in desert caves
for 2,000 years.

What were they doing
in these caves?

Who put them here?
Why did they put them here?

Discovered by chance,

their secrets jealously guarded.

Nothing like this
was ever found before.

What are these ancient writings?

Do these fragile manuscripts
predict a deadly apocalypse?

There are graves all over here.



Today, innovative
multispectral imaging technology

reveals the hidden meaning
of the texts.

For the first time,
we have actual writings

dating to about the time
of Jesus.

Why are the scrolls
found in this remote desert?

Who are the writers?

To solve these mysteries,

we'll dive deep inside
desert caves...

We'll resurrect
a king's mountain lair...

And discover traces
of an epic cataclysm

to reveal the darkest secrets
of the Dead Sea scrolls.

captions paid for by
discovery communications

Israel. The Dead Sea.

The lowest point on earth.



Here in 1946,
a Bedouin guarding his flock

makes an extraordinary
discovery,

a chance find
that will transform

our understanding
of biblical history.

He was looking for a lost goat

when he came to the entrance
to a cave.

He decided to throw
a stone into the cave

to see if he could
flush out the goat.

Instead of hearing
the stone hit rock...

...he hears it smash pottery.

He enters the cave
to investigate.

What was in those caves

was the greatest archaeological
discovery of the 20th century.

Hidden behind a narrow entrance

lies strangely shaped
ceramic jars.

Curled up inside
are ancient treasures...

...delicate scrolls
of Hebrew writing

dating back
200 years before Jesus.

One of them is over 20 feet long

and contains almost
the entire book of Isaiah

from the old testament.

These battered parchments become
known as the Dead Sea scrolls,

the oldest biblical texts
in the world.

Today, the Dead Sea scrolls
are here

in the shrine of the book
at the Israel museum.

Almost one million people
visit this museum

to see the scrolls each year.

The giant Isaiah scroll
is the crown Jewel.

Pnina Shor is the curator
of the Dead Sea scrolls.

This is a sample
of one of the big scrolls.

We have five of them
really well-preserved.

Investigators
have spent 70 years

studying and decrypting
the scrolls.

These are the earliest copies
of the Bible that we have.

They're older than anything
that we had previously.

The scrolls
are 1,000 years older

than any other biblical text
we have.

Today, Pnina and her team

are deciphering every last
word and Mark on them.

They are making
surprising new discoveries.

We're now going through material
that has not been deciphered yet

because we couldn't see any
of the ink on these fragments,

and we are discovering
new fragments.

They photograph the scrolls

with a special camera
developed by NASA.

It allows them
to analyze the parchment

under different
lighting conditions.

Sacred words
lost for centuries

emerge when they combine
the images.

Can you please show me
from both sides?

Even 70 years
after their discovery,

the scrolls are still
giving up new secrets.

-Here?
-Yeah.

As you can see,
this is pretty clear.

This fragment reveals a word
missing from a biblical scroll.

It's the word...

Yeah.

Discoveries like this confirm

that the Hebrew Bible
is the same today

as in the time of Jesus.

It hasn't changed
for thousands of years.

Yeah. Now you can see
the letters. Beautiful.

It shows us
how a minute fragment

can actually help
biblical studies

and biblical research today.

The scrolls are the greatest

biblical treasures of all time.

Handwritten copies of the Bible
from the time of Christ,

they shed light
on Jesus, Judaism,

and the emergence
of early Christianity.

But many great mysteries
about the scrolls themselves

remain unsolved.

Their chance discovery
is just the first of many.

More caves containing hundreds
of scrolls are soon revealed.

The remains of approximately
1,000 different scrolls

were found in 11 caves
in this area.

A cave
less than a mile from the first

proves the richest of them all.

Inside it,

the earliest copy
of the ten commandments

in existence...

And around it,
500 scrolls

in 15,000
scattered fragments.

Some can be assembled
and deciphered,

like the first three chapters
of the book of Genesis.

Others have crumbled
into pieces so small,

they still elude decryption.

Could they hold clues to
who writes the Dead Sea scrolls

then hides them
in the desert caves?

Dr. Eshbal Ratzon is part
of an international team

racing to decipher
two fragmented scrolls.

She's working on 66 tiny
and mysterious pieces

that could contain clues to
reveal who writes the scrolls.

My work is working with puzzles.

This particular puzzle
gives us a glimpse

into a document
that was preserved

for 2,000 years in the desert.

Pioneering, ultra
high-resolution photography

means Eshbal can now
read the words

on even the tiniest
scroll fragments.

She moves the fragments around
on her computer screen

to try to put them
back together.

It's a 2,000-year-old
electronic Jigsaw puzzle.

We got lucky because
we got most of the fragments

from the edges of the puzzle.

Eshbal discovers
that the writer of this scroll

is leaving mysterious notes
between the columns.

I just had a hunch that these
two notes were connected.

Maybe just the scribe just ran
out of space, and he turned,

so I was able to join
this bunch of fragments

with this bunch of fragments.

I got a whole column
from margin to margin.

The technology allows
Eshbal to finally reveal

that one of the last two scrolls
to be deciphered

is a religious calendar.

It's a very unique calendar.

We don't know it from elsewhere

except from
the Dead Sea scrolls.

2,000 years ago,

following your own
religious calendar

is a radical act,

like deciding to
celebrate Christmas in June.

This calendar is a clue that can
reveal who writes the scrolls.

The ruling Jewish priests
in the temple of Jerusalem

follow a lunar calendar
with 354 days in a year.

On the new moon, high priests

make offerings
of fruit and grains...

And sacrifice animals
to please their god.

The writers of the scrolls
reject these offerings

and instead become obsessed
with purification,

immersing in cold water
at least twice a day.

They decide to follow
their own calendar,

with 364 days in a year,

based on the movement
of the sun.

This was a huge step.

It made the sect separate

from the rest
of the Jewish groups.

The new technology
allows Eshbal to solve

the puzzle of who writes
the Dead Sea scrolls.

It reveals the name of
this breakaway Jewish sect.

The group that is
associated with this calendar

refers to themselves
in other Dead Sea scrolls

as the...

Or the sons of righteousness
or the sons of light.

The Dead Sea scrolls
are the library

of a mysterious sect --
the sons of light.

But who are they?
What happens to them?

And why do they hide
their precious text

to be lost for 2,000 years?

The Dead Sea scrolls --

hundreds of documents dating
from the time of Christ.

Today, new technology

is deciphering
the last of the scrolls,

proving they belong
to a mysterious Jewish sect.

They call themselves
the sons of light.

Who are they, and why do they
hide their holy texts

in desert caves

to be discovered by chance
2,000 years later?

Clues to answer these questions
may lie here.

Next to the cave where
the most scrolls are found

are the ruins
of an unusual walled settlement.

It's called Qumran.

Beside it, row upon row
of mysterious stone mounds.

Beneath, archaeologists
unearth more than 70 skeletons

all buried
in the same distinctive way.

The bodies lie all alone,

in 6-foot-deep pits,
without any possessions.

All lie on their backs

with their hands
resting on their hips,

and their heads point south

towards the scorching
midday sun.

Are these the sons of light,
the keepers of the scrolls?

There are graves all over here.

Here. Look.
Look at this structure here.

Yossi Nagar investigates

newly discovered skeletons
from the cemetery.

If you open these graves
that you see here all around,

you found that all of them
look the same.

Someone devised it.
It's not accidental.

He excavates 33 of the graves.

So I say, "okay. That's weird."

Yossi investigates

how old these men are
when they died.

The people
that were buried here,

their average age of death
is much higher

than the regular cemetery
or a regular village.

He discovers
that almost all the men

are more than 30 years old
when they die.

Jewish respect for human remains

means all the skeletons
are reburied,

except for this one thigh bone.

Experts extract samples
from the Qumran bone

and, for the first time,
use radiocarbon technology

to date it.

It works by measuring
how organic material

changes over time.

Here we are.

The test reveals that this bone
is almost 2,000 years old.

The bodies date to the same time
as the scrolls.

Yossi believes that the scrolls
can reveal the reason

for the existence of this
mysterious all-male cemetery.

When you read
the Dead Sea scrolls,

you do find about

the community of people
living in the desert.

Celibate males
have their own rules.

No women, no little children,
living to old age.

Could Qumran be
the home of the sons of light?

We have no other site
like Qumran anywhere.

It is a unique
archaeological site.

Jodi Magness
searches Qumran for evidence

that this could be the home
of the sons of light

as described in the scrolls.

Based on the information
that we have in the scrolls,

what we would expect
to find at Qumran

is a settlement that is not
an ordinary town or a village,

but rather is
a community center.

Jodi investigates
the buildings here.

She starts with this
mysterious stepped structure.

Right behind me
is a Jewish ritual bath

where Jews would immerse

in order to ritually
purify themselves in the water.

We know from the scrolls

that the sons of light
must ritually bathe twice a day.

Qumran has 10 ritual baths.

The scrolls say
that the sons of light

must always gather at mealtimes
to eat together.

So, this room is the largest
room in the Qumran settlement.

In a room adjacent to it,

a pantry of dishes with over
1,000 dining dishes was found.

This large room
also apparently was used

as a communal dining room.

Qumran has all
the facilities required

to fulfill the strict
religious laws of the sect

laid down in the scrolls.

Jodi thinks some of
the Dead Sea scrolls

are written in this building.

It's been identified as
a scriptorium, or writing room.

At the second-story level
of this room,

originally there was furniture,

and mixed in with the debris of
this furniture were ink Wells.

It's an exciting discovery,

but Jodi thinks
the final piece of evidence

lies not with the scrolls

but with the ceramic jars
they are found in.

So, this is a Potter's workshop.

Scientific analyses of the clay

have indicated that
the pots found here at Qumran

and in the surrounding caves
were made from the same clay,

and therefore, we can say that
we have both an archaeological

and a scientific connection
between the site of Qumran

and the scrolls
in the nearby caves.

Jodi has no doubt
that Qumran is the true home

of the sons of light
and their Dead Sea scrolls.

Locating the sect
here by the Dead Sea

reveals the sons of light
are known by another name,

their true identity.

We do have sources
that tell us who this sect was.

All of these sources
talk about a Jewish sect

that lived on the northwest
shore of the Dead Sea

in the area
where Qumran is located

called the Essenes.

Ancient sources
tell the story of the sect.

The Essenes hail
from Jerusalem...

But so detest its religious
rulers, they abandon the city.

They build a community
near the Dead Sea

where they can worship
in their own way.

Obsessed with writing, copying,
and collecting scripture,

they have someone reading the
Bible every minute of every day.

They write the rules
of the community on scrolls

and store them alongside copies
of their holy scriptures.

In the time of Jesus,
we know that there were

many different Jewish groups,
movements, and sects,

so the Essenes were part
of this mosaic

of different Jewish groups
and movements.

If the Essenes are
obsessed with precious scrolls,

why do they place them
in dusty desert caves?

Why do they never return
to collect them?

The answer could lie
in a 2,000-year-old apocalypse

that destroys the holy land.

The Dead Sea scrolls --

the oldest bibles
ever discovered.

Archaeology and forensic science
are revealing

that the scrolls are created
by a secretive Jewish sect --

the Essenes, religious
outcasts from Jerusalem,

exiled to the wilderness
of Judea at Qumran.

Why do the Essenes hide their
precious scrolls in these caves

and never return
to collect them?

In these cliffs above Qumran,
Jodi Magness investigates a cave

that might hold a clue
to this mystery.

This is the opening to cave 11.

One of the scrolls
that was found here

is a copy of the war scroll

which describes the apocalyptic
war at the end of days

between the sons of light
and the sons of darkness.

2,000 years ago, the Essenes,

just like
the very first Christians,

believe the world
is about to end.

They prepare for a war
at the end of days

and preach about
the coming apocalypse.

They are right to plan ahead.

Judea is on the brink of war
with the Romans.

Back then, the Romans rule
a vast empire with an iron fist,

but there's resistance brewing
in the province of Judea.

In 66 A.D.,
Jewish rebels wipe out

the Roman Garrison in Jerusalem

and declare
an independent Jewish state.

The revolt
spreads like wildfire,

so the Romans send 60,000 troops
to crush the rebellion.

They rampage
across Judea and Galilee,

taking city after city,

slaughtering hundreds
of thousands of Jews.

In the middle of
the revolt, in the year 68 a.D.,

the site of Qumran
was destroyed.

The excavations revealed
Roman arrowheads.

Now, could it be that
the Essenes here at Qumran

thought that this was,
in fact,

this apocalypse
that they were awaiting?

For Jodi, this is the reason

most of the scrolls are found

in the cave
right next to the settlement.

The Essenes hide them there
just before the Romans attack.

I believe that
there can be little doubt

that at least some of
the scrolls were deposited

in the cave for safekeeping

on the Eve of the Roman
destruction of the settlement

in the year 68 a.D.

But why are
the scrolls never recovered?

Where do the Essenes go?

Clues to this mystery
could lie here

in the most holy city in the
Roman province of Judea --

Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is the original home
of the Essenes.

This area, called mount Zion,
is its wealthiest district.

Rafi Lewis and his team
excavate a site here.

Their dig unearths
something extraordinary --

a house with rooms
that are sealed 2,000 years ago.

This is probably
a blocked window,

but if we open it,

we'll be able
to enter another room

which belonged to this house.

Now, this is quite exciting when
we're thinking about a period

with many interesting events

including the hiding
of the Dead Sea scrolls.

As the team unearths

the ritual bathing pool
of the house,

they find a missing link
to the Dead Sea scrolls.

They extract four mysterious
fragments from the rubble,

parts of a carved limestone cup
used in purification rituals.

Scratched into its surface

are three types
of mysterious scripts.

One of them is unique
to the Dead Sea scrolls.

Could this cup
belong to the Essenes?

If so, what's it doing in a city
they have long abandoned?

This is one of
the most exciting finds

we've ever made in Jerusalem.

This line is basically saying...

Shavti...

"I returned
to the house of the lord."

Is the cup
evidence that the Essenes

flee the destruction of Qumran

and return
to their original home city?

It might be holding
an answer for us.

He comes back
to the house of the lord,

is very excited about it.

He picks up the first thing
that comes into his hand,

and that's his stone cup.

He's writing this script,

"I return
to the house of the lord."

It's an exciting discovery.

There is a possibility
that this was actually made

by someone who came back to
Jerusalem after being in Qumran.

Nothing like this
was ever found in Jerusalem.

The cup tells Rafi
that at least some Essenes

leave Qumran
and return to Jerusalem.

The frantic inscription
on the ceremonial cup,

"I return
to the house of the lord,"

may be evidence some Essenes
escape the destruction of Qumran

looking for sanctuary
in Jerusalem.

It's a tragic mistake.

This revolt culminated

with the destruction of the city
of Jerusalem by the Romans.

Jerusalem falls
two years after Qumran

in the year 70 a.D.

Its inhabitants are slaughtered.

Is that the end of the Essenes?

The discovery of more scrolls

in an impenetrable
mountain fortress

indicates a dramatic escape.

The Dead Sea scrolls --

saved from destruction
in the war against the Romans

by the Essenes.

Why do they never retrieve
their biblical treasures?

The Romans lay waste
to their desert home,

and the Essenes disappear
from the map...

Until a discovery...

Here.

Masada -- a magnificent
mountain fortress

perched above the shores
of the Dead Sea.

Masada is built 100 years
before the Jewish revolt

by a notorious ruler,
king Herod the great.

When archaeologists
excavate this site,

they make
an astounding discovery.

Inside the ruined fortress wall,

buried under a pile of rubble,

they find fragments
of ancient parchments.

One of them is a copy
of holy verse

only ever seen
in the Dead Sea scrolls

called "songs of the sabbath
sacrifice."

Is this evidence of an
Essene presence in Masada?

Once a palatial villa,
Masada is testament

to the power and wealth
of its former owner, king Herod.

Why would the Essenes
come to a fortress

once occupied by
the most hated tyrant of Judea?

Masada is an extraordinary
mountaintop megastructure.

A hanging palace
sits inside the fortress.

The palace is constructed
on three terraces

above cliffs
over 1,000 feet tall.

It houses a barracks, an armory,

even a centrally heated
bathhouse.

But by the time of the revolt,
king Herod is long dead,

his palace a mothballed shell.

Dr. Guy Stiebel investigates
the secrets of Masada.

He wants to know who occupies
this vast fortress

during the revolt
against the Romans.

Historic accounts
from the time of the Roman war

report Masada is held
by violent Jewish extremists.

They are called the Sicarii.

The Sicarii are Jewish assassins

who take their name
from the sica,

a deadly dagger
they hide in their cloaks.

They're notorious for killing
Roman occupiers in public places

and vanishing into the crowd.

At the start of the war,
Sicarii rebels

capture the fortress of Masada
from the Romans.

From their desert hideout,
they can survive in safety

while the Romans devastate
the rest of the country.

Guy investigates why
this fragment of Dead Sea scroll

that matches
those found at Qumran

is found here in Masada
in a rebel hideout.

He starts looking
for traces of the Essenes.

The Essenes
had to purify themselves,

so we need to look for something

that look like a mikveh,
an immersion pool.

At the center of Masada,

guy examines
a mysterious stepped structure.

This construction was done

during the time of the revolt.

What we can see
is a huge mikveh here.

We have the steps that can
allow me going all the way down.

Guy identifies this
as an Essene ritual bath.

It looks like one of
the many ritual baths

found at their base in Qumran.

They used to bathe as a group
twice a day

in the middle of the desert.

This is something
extremely unique.

Next door to the ritual bath

is this long, thin building.

Guy thinks
it matches those at Qumran

where the scrolls are written.

The width of this hole
is identical by the millimeter

to what we have at Qumran.

The length is exactly half
the size of what we have there.

For me, this led me to
crack a riddle that we had

about the location of the Essene
here on top of Masada.

Guy thinks
that these structures

prove some Essenes
build a new home at Masada.

His latest excavations here
reveal new evidence

that transforms
our understanding

of this mountain fortress
and its place in history.

I'm sure the Sicarii
were the most dominant group

here at Masada,
but they were not the only one.

His team excavates two buildings

built into the wall of
the fortress during the revolt.

Dr. - it's a coin.

It's what we called...
Of shackles

from the time of the revolt
on the floor.

Nice.

They unearth huge
amounts of everyday artifacts

from these two buildings.

So, basically,

a wine cup to drink,
made of glass.

Let's see. It fits perfectly.

Guy believes
that these discoveries

are evidence of who is taking
shelter behind these walls.

They may also explain
why Essenes are here in Masada.

Actually, I'm really thrilled
because we just dig out

of the ground
a beautiful discovery.

What we have here is what we
call a cabochon, the gemstone.

For me, this is
a truly big story.

This tiny gemstone
is only partially cut,

suggesting that the owner

hasn't had time
to finish working on it.

Imagine the Romans
are out there.

You need to leave your home.
What do you take along?

Jewelry is something
that is small enough

to be carried in your pocket
or in your purse.

Guy believes
these discoveries prove

Masada is a refuge for all Jews
escaping the Romans.

That includes Essenes fleeing
the destruction at Qumran.

The Essenes bring some of
their precious scrolls with them

and claim sanctuary at Masada.

If you want to find shelter
from the Romans,

this was a place to come.

Everyone was accepted
on top of Masada.

But Herod’s mountain fortress

is not as safe
as the Essenes hope.

In 73 a.D., a mighty Roman army
descends on Masada.

Seeing the Roman scouts
appearing on the horizon

would be terrifying.

Does the Roman march on Masada

explain why the Essenes
never recover their scrolls?

Is this why
the world's oldest bibles

are left in Dead Sea caves
for 2,000 years?

The Dead Sea scrolls --

ancient biblical treasures
saved by a secret Jewish sect,

the Essenes.

The Essenes run for safety

with the last
of their precious scrolls.

They escape the Romans
during a failed revolt

and flee to Masada,

the last rebel stronghold
in the whole of Judea,

but the Roman empire
must crush all resistance.

They turn their sights
on Masada.

Is this the place of
the last stand of the Essenes?

This was not a fair game.
You don't mess with the Romans.

In 73 a.D.,

a whole Roman legion
lays siege to Masada.

They face a daunting task.

Steep, slippery inclines
and sheer cliffs

surround the enemy stronghold.

Inside the rocks
is a network of huge cisterns

that can hold enough water

to supply the rebels
for 10 years.

Around the citadel on top
is a tall double wall,

over 6 feet thick

with 30 towers
guarding the approach.

How can the Romans
break this mega fortress

and finally extinguish
the Jewish rebellion?

Guy and his team use innovative
drone mapping technology

to capture a complete 3-d model
of the Roman siege system.

Their new survey reveals
the assault of Masada

in unprecedented detail.

The Romans construct eight forts
surrounding the mountain.

Each fort is
a self-sufficient camp

that can hold 1,000 soldiers.

Once the Romans
decided to besiege Masada

and to send to the desert
between 6,000 to 8,000 soldiers,

they mean business.

-Can you zoom in?
-Yeah.

Guy and his team use
the results of the drone survey

to examine
the Roman siege system.

-You can see how steep it is.
-Yeah.

-Now we can see it differently.
-Yeah, yeah.

Having now the 3-d modeling
and all the data

actually allow me
to reconstruct the actual arena

where this very important siege
actually took place.

Guy's survey and modeling

reveals that
the Romans construct

this 2-mile-long, 6-foot-thick
stone perimeter wall

that surrounds
the whole mountain.

The refuge of Masada
is now a prison.

It seems they invested
a lot of manpower in that.

It's, like,
huge amounts of stone.

There was no way out
for the rebels whatsoever.

The Romans are experts
in siege warfare.

But they've never attempted
to storm anywhere like Masada.

They couldn't use
the classical technique

of just rolling a battering ram
on top of the tower.

The Romans must find a way

to overcome
1,000 feet of sheer cliff.

Their answer?

To build this giant ramp.

It's an astonishing achievement

that still confounds
archaeologists.

Guy investigates
why the Romans build it here.

They decided to take advantage
of the natural spur

that we are standing on top of.

Choosing this spot
allows the Romans

to reduce the height of the ramp
they must build by half.

Even so, building
a 500-foot-tall ramp
in desert heat

tests Roman military expertise
to the limit.

The Romans must shift hundreds
of thousands of tons of rubble

before the ramp
reaches the fortress.

Only then can they finally
move their siege towers

up to the defensive walls
and begin the assault.

Guy calculates
the number of stones

a fit soldier can move
in a set time.

This enables him to work out
that the Romans build

their whole siege system
in less than nine weeks.

A crucial element, of course,
is one has to remember

that we're in
the middle of the desert.

It is hot, so it is, indeed,
imperative for them

to get up there
as quickly as possible.

How did the Romans
build so fast?

He investigates these
mysterious wooden fragments

that stick out of the ramp.

What is pretty amazing is that
we have here organic remains

of branches and trees
that are laid here,

that they survived 2,000 years.

We can actually see the line
here, one after the after.

And if you go another meter up,
you can see few more.

By that, you're creating
kind of shells and boxes

that supported the rocks
and the soil

that was done quickly here,

allowing the Romans
to storm Masada.

Now only cliff-top defenses

stand between
the defenders of Masada

and death
at the hands of the Romans.

Could this be why
they disappear from history,

leaving only
their Dead Sea scrolls?

2,000 years ago,

the writers of
the Dead Sea scrolls

hide their sacred text
in remote desert caves.

Known as the Essenes,
they then vanish from history.

Now new discoveries are
finally starting to reveal

what happens to them.

In the Jewish revolt,

the Essenes flee to the
mountaintop fortress of Masada,

but the Romans
besiege the fortress

and now launch
their final attack.

They use the battering rams
in the siege towers

to crush the fortress walls.

And to remove a second barricade
the defenders have built up,

the Romans set fire to it.

As the sun goes down,
the Romans pause the attack.

It's a very symbolic sunset.

It was very clear
that the end was near.

Guy turns to a gory account

by an ancient Jewish historian,
Josephus.

There was one act only
that you can still do

and die as a proud man,

and that is to commit suicide.

Ten rebels take the lives

of the other 900 men,
women, and children

before one kills the final nine,

sets fire to the fort,
and takes his own life.

When the Romans enter Masada,
all the inhabitants are dead.

The apocalypse the Essenes
predict in their scrolls

becomes reality.

But guy Stiebel
believes the sect

performs one last
significant act before they die.

His excavations at Masada

unearth a cave
just like those at Qumran.

The people of Qumran used
to place their scrolls in jars

and put it in caves.

In the finds lab,
guy examines

this remarkable piece of pottery
found among the cave debris.

He identifies the fragment
of pot from its shape.

Actually, we are very thrilled.

We just discovered a fragment
of what we believe

is a cylindrial jar

of the type the ones
that the Essenes,

people of Qumran,
used to store their scroll in,

and it was found in the cave
just next to the dining hall.

He believes that
this pot matches the design

of the jars found in Qumran

that contain
the Dead Sea scrolls.

Is this evidence that the
terrified Essenes, facing death,

hide their last sacred scrolls
in a cave at Masada

just like they do at Qumran?

For us to have that on top
of Masada in context in the cave

is extremely,
extremely significant.

The Essenes may vanish,

but they leave us the oldest
biblical treasure ever known.

When we say that the Essenes
that were here

on top of Masada died --

but their ideas
clearly continued.

The Essenes left us an enormous
amount of information

that tells us
about the world of Jesus,

Judaism in this period,
and ultimately the context

from which early Christianity
would emerge.

Without the discovery
of these caves,

the oldest Bible in the world

would remain lost
in the judean desert,

and the Essenes would have been
consigned to oblivion.

Today, the whole world
can read the Dead Sea scrolls.