Biblical Archaeology Review, September/October 1989
Features
What Should Be Done About the Unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls?
BAR’s article on the Dead Sea Scrolls scandal in the July/August issue (“Dead Sea Scrolls Scandal—Israel’s Department of Antiquities Joins Conspiracy to Keep Scrolls Secret,” BAR 15:04) focused worldwide attention on the fact that, more than 40 years after the discovery of the first scroll in a...Read more ›
Were the Ancient Egyptians Black or White?
A recent letter to the editor in BAR (Queries & Comments, BAR 15:03) objected to an advertisement for a doll of Queen Nefertiti that portrayed her as white-skinned. According to the letter writer, Nefertiti was “a beautiful black Egyptian Queen.” Moreover, “The Egyptians are a black race...Read more ›
Hideouts in the Judean Wilderness
Jewish revolutionaries and Christian ascetics sought shelter and protection in cliffside caves
More than three decades have passed since archaeologists and Bedouin prowled the caves of the Judean wilderness in search of ancient manuscripts and other remains. What occasioned this frenzied search was the stunning but accidental finding of the first Dead Sea Scrolls: In 1947 Bedouin shepherds came...Read more ›
How I Found a Fourth-Century B.C. Papyrus Scroll on My First Time Out!
This is almost as much a personal story of luck and adventure as it is an archaeological story. It tells of my first dig—my own dig, that is—after graduating with a B.A. in archaeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. My story will perhaps explain why, despite...Read more ›