I should add that I admire your adventurous nature, although I cannot see myself using the Copper Scroll as a launching pad for a ten year adventure... Must have been a magnificent obsession, though.
The scroll was a tool. Nothing more. It was never an obsession, but a passion. My training is as a Geologist and I was the project Geologist on four excavations. One is lucky to have a passion for anything. Some have passions for making money. Some for sports. All in all, a person should find a passion in life and not just coast along. As far as objects of obsessions, I don’t actually believe that anyone will find the objects mentioned in the Copper Scroll. I believe that if you read the Bible, you will conclude that G-d hid the Ark of the Covenant and it will not be found. It is not mentioned in the Scroll at all, but it does mention the “objects”. Mainly, the hunt for the religious objects were magnified by the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and is a fantasy. We had hundreds of volunteers come and go through the years with the same idea, but had the adventure of a lifetime by coming and exploring in Israel. I strongly recommend it to anyone.