The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered in caves along the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth. The Dead Sea from Qumran

 The scrolls were found in limestone cliffs, and in marl caves.  These caves are found in the Qumran plateau located at the Wadi Qumran.

They are:  A collection of 931 documents  Oldest copies of the Old Testament  Jewish sectarian writings  Composed in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek  Produced between 250 BC and AD 68  Hidden in Judean desert caves before AD 68 Scroll Jar

 In the 1940’s, shepherds of the Ta’amirah Bedouin tribe were tending their goat herds in the Judean desert.  There, shepherds stumbled upon caves containing the Dead Sea Scrolls. Scroll From Cave 1

 Ta’amireh shepherd Muhammed al-Asi (pictured right) was part of the group of Bedouin who searched for a lost goat in the 1940’s.  The Bedouin threw a rock into an upper cave opening to scare the goat out of the cave; he heard the sound of breaking pottery.