Archaeologist: Antiquities Authority destroying Leviticus scroll

Ha-Aretz ^ | 10 May 2007 | By Yair Sheleg

[BlackVeil]

Professor Hanan Eshel, the archaeologist who two years ago uncovered scroll fragments of the Book of Leviticus, says the Israel Antiquities Authority, which now has the finds, has cut out large chunks of the scroll on the pretext that its dating needed to be examined. This was not a necessary procedure, says Eshel, since "experts say it was possible to test the dating without an intrusive examination and in the worst case scenario by cutting a tiny, peripheral portion of the scroll." Relying on internal sources in the Antiquities Authority, Eshel says "there had even been plans to cut letters from the scroll but the employees that were asked to do so refused." Eshel ties the behavior of the Authority to a dispute that emerged between him and officials there and "their desire to prove that the scroll is a forgery." Amir Ganor, director of the unit for the prevention of theft in the Antiquities Authority, said in response that "in order to carry out the examination we could not avoid making certain cuts in the scroll itself. This is acceptable in every examination of this sort. We cut only two small parts, one-half centimeter each, from the end of the scroll. At no stage was there any thought of cutting letters, only to scrape off some ink in order to examine it. The minute it became clear to us that we could not have unequivocal results from such an examination, we did not do it." However, the photographs published here suggest the scroll cuts are significantly more extensive than what Ganor acknowledges and encompass nearly all the part of the scroll that has no writing on it.

[BlackVeil]

Flag.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BlackVeil.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

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[Sam Ketcham]

Wait till it is shown to be a forgery before destroying it... how do you say Idiots in Hebrew?

[Mike Fieschko]

The codex@biblicalstudies blog has some images, allegedly of side-by-side comparisons of the before and after cutting of the scroll fragment: Leviticus Scroll Image Comparison Before and After Removal.

The blog is by Tyler F. Williams Chair, Religion & Theology Department; Assistant Professor of Old Testament, Taylor University College, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He has all his 'Leviticus Scroll' category posts archived at Archive for the 'Leviticus Scroll' Category.

Some other biblical archaeology bloggers have also posted on the Ha'artez story.

[BlackVeil]

Thanks so much for those references. What is the consensus among the Biblical scholars on this issue?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks.

[Mike Fieschko]

Thanks so much for those references. What is the consensus among the Biblical scholars on this issue?

You're welcome. I haven't followed the issue closely, so I don't know what the consensus is.

[Zionist Conspirator]

Thanks for the flag.

[Ciexyz]

Oh, dear. How sad, if true.

Off to check out the links you posted.

[Mike Fieschko]

Google blog search for "Leviticus scroll".

Technorati blog search for "Leviticus scroll".

Icerocket blog search for "Leviticus scroll".

Some overlap among these three, as is to be expected.

[Dustbunny]

Why would they do something so moronic.

[BlackVeil]

Allegedly, they are out to prove the authenticity of the scroll, and it seems they feel sure they can press on with these methods.

[SunkenCiv]

Proviso — those who have seen the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition probably noticed that the scrolls themselves were nearly destroyed by the act of unrolling them, and since they’d been in clay pots for 2000 years, they weren’t in great shape to begin with.