Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed

Summary

March 16, 2009: An Israeli scholar has claimed that the Essenes, a Jewish group of mystics living in the canyons near the Dead Sea in the 1st century AD who allegedly penned the Dead Sea Scrolls, never existed at all. Instead, they were allegedly made up by a Jewish scholar held captive in Rome who wanted to portray a group of Jews as exceptional and heroic. Instead it is suggested that the scrolls were created by the descendants of a priestly caste banished from the Temple of Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC.

Source

Bibliography

1. Original article

Game and Story Use

• The Dead Sea Scrolls work as a great MacGuffin for adventurers to chase after. Hints about the true authors of the scrolls might help them to find more of them.