Five Museum of the Bible Dead Sea Scrolls Are Fake
Scientific tests conducted on Dead Sea Scroll fragments
A fragment in the Museum of the Bible Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. Click on the image to read the placards. Photo: Robin Ngo.
On October 22, 2018, the Museum of the Bible announced that at least five of their Dead Sea Scrolls fragments have been determined to be fakes. The announcement followed a battery of rigorous scientific tests conducted by the German-based Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und-prüfung (BAM), an institute that—among other things—performs tests on ancient manuscripts.
This acknowledgement by the Museum of the Bible that several of the Dead Sea Scrolls in their collection were “inconsistent with ancient origin” confirms what several scholars have suspected for years, and what the Museum of the Bible has quietly hinted at for several months: that several of their Dead Sea Scrolls may be forgeries.
Steve Green, the founder of the Hobby Lobby chain of arts and crafts stores, acquired much of these unprovenanced fragments from antiquities dealers, many of whom have insisted on remaining anonymous. Green donated part of his antiquities collection to the Museum of the Bible, which he also founded. You’ll recall that Hobby Lobby recently paid $3 million and forfeited thousands of objects to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a settlement with the U.S. government, including 1,500 cuneiform tablets, 500 cuneiform bricks, 3,000 clay bullae, 13 extra-large cuneiform tablets, and 500 stone cylinder seals, following news that Green and/or someone acting on his behalf attempted to smuggle antiquities into the U.S. using a customs declaration that read “handcrafted clay tiles … worth about $300.” This past May 2018, about 4,000 of these seized objects were repatriated to the Iraqi government.
I am not surprised that several of these Museum of the Bible Dead Sea Scrolls fragments were found to be fakes. Many in the scholarly community have suspected this for some time. The Museum of the Bible even took the extraordinary step of acknowledging the possibility that some of their scroll fragments were fakes in the placards next to the fragments. Still, the museum displayed the fragments, despite the scholarly warnings against their authenticity.
The Museum of the Bible Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit included informational placards that read “Are these fragments real? Research continues.” Photo: Robert R. Cargill.
The Museum of the Bible should be commended for submitting the scroll fragments for analysis and for releasing the results of the study’s findings, even though the results would be embarrassing for the museum. This, however, is the best way forward for the Museum of the Bible. Full transparency should be the museum’s modus operandi moving forward. This is the only way to begin to repair the damage done to the institution’s credibility following years of scholarly protest and concern about their collection.
The Museum of the Bible Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. Photo: Robin Ngo.
From this point forward, it is my hope that the people who are hired by the Museum of the Bible, from the museum’s newly-announced CEO, Ken McKenzie, on down, will take seriously the criticisms and the advice of the scholarly community and focus on becoming a world-class museum.
Finally, this should serve yet again as a prime example for why unprovenanced archaeological objects should not be published and displayed in museums. The days of the black-market trade of unprovenanced Dead Sea Scrolls fragments must come to an end!
Related reading in Bible History Daily:
The Museum of the Bible in the Spotlight
Biblical History at What Cost? by Roberta Mazza
Hobby Lobby, the Museum of the Bible and the antiquities market
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Following scientific method it is not up to the skeptic to prove something untrue (fake), it is up to the author or source to prove
the theory or object true. If this were followed, there would be far fewer fake items and unproven theories.
Even the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem displays “fake” DS. The real ones are kept under lock & key in climate/illumination controlled storage to protect them.
I agree with Ron as long as there are groups like DAESH and the Taliban who follow the pedophile Mohamed’s instructions to destroy everything non-Mohamedian, ancient artifacts need to be kept safe in countries other than Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, etc.
Wisdom from a three year old?
“It’s not fair”.
Having visited the Museum of the Bible, I am glad to see that they acknowledged the 5 fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls to not be genuine. I am not sure this detracts from the Museum’s main aim–which is to show the Bible’s influence on culture.
The Greens are neither academics nor seekers after truth. They are assembling a tent-show to impress the gullible with an array of “artifacts” with neither provenance nor context. Their priority is providing props for a poorly-written, over-produced “morality” play.
Maybe the Museum or some other holding company should have kept the 4,000 tablets, etc. until it is proven that returning them “to the Iraqi government” would be safe for the artifacts. That may not yet be the case in a land torn by war and unstability. Pray for stability stability.
A very insightful article. It takes great humility to admit that your museum contains fake artifacts. It helps to built the reputation and trustworiof the museum in the future.
Well written Article, I have been discussing this with my colleagues for some time. Very curious to see what’s next for the Museum of the Bible.