The copper scroll found in one of the many caves of the Dead Sea contains a list of treasures that have never been found to this day. It is still an unsolved mystery! This article will tell you all about the copper scroll treasures. Was the copper scroll treasure real? Have the treasures already been located? Read on and find out all about the copper scroll treasures!
Discovery of the Copper Scrolls
The discovery of the copper scroll was made by a team of researchers, explorers, and archeologists in March of 1952. This team was led by the French archeologist Henri de Contenson. The fact that the scroll had been written on copper rather than parchment or papyrus shows that the people who wrote and later hid it must have been very rich. The Hebrew language in which it was written was also different from the rest of the papers that were found in the cave.
Another thing that made it unique was that it contained a list of around sixty-four entries that described the location of places where a huge treasure of gold and silver was buried. The scroll is called 3Q15 because it was the last of the fourteen other scrolls found in the third cave of Qumran near the Dead Sea. The treasure mentioned in the copper scroll is hidden in various locations in Israel. An estimated 160 tons of gold and silver is said to be the hoard of the treasure.
The copper scroll treasure most probably came from the Second Temple of Jerusalem, constructed between 516 BC And 70 AD. The people who visited the Second Temple were required to pay a certain amount in offerings. After a long period, these offerings increased, and thus the largest religious shrine in the whole of Rome (the Second Temple), became known as the Temple Treasure. If you go to Israel today, you can still see some parts of the Second Temple in the Western Walls of Israel.
Contents of the Copper Scroll
When the Romans attacked and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, they also took some of the Second Temple’s treasure. However, the Essene priests are said to have hidden the major parts of the treasure around the Holy Land. It is they who later left clues regarding its locations on the copper scroll. There is a mention of a silver scroll in the 64th entry of the Copper Scroll, which gives some more clues to finding these treasures. But unfortunately, this silver scroll has never been found.
Many excavations and hunts have been organized and taken place but to no avail. Looking for and finding the location of the Copper Scroll treasure is a daunting task. The vocabulary in the scroll is not easy to understand. The text that has been translated points to places that no longer exist. The copper scroll mentions things like “in the gutter which is in the bottom of the tank” or “in the Second Enclosure in the underground passage that looks East.” These kinds of clues are, of course, of no use and does not help even the best of the treasure hunters.
Where is the Copper Scroll Now?
The Dead Sea Scrolls have been put up on display in Jerusalem in the “Museum’s Shrine of the Book,” but the Copper Scrolls are not there. To look at the Copper Scrolls, you will have to visit the Jordan Museum in its capital city of Amman.
Some people do not believe that the treasures mentioned in the Copper Scroll really exists. It doesn’t really matter what you believe. What is true is that the copper scrolls are one of the most intriguing archeological finds. The scroll had been lying in the cave for nearly 2,000 years before archeologists found it. At the time of the find, it was rolled into thin sheets of copper and couldn’t be opened without damaging it. It took experts and scholars a formidable five years before they came up with a solution. They used a very small saw and cut the scroll carefully into 23 strips. Only afterward were they able to decipher the language and read the scroll’s contents.
