Israeli Scholars Drop Restriction on Scrolls Access

The Israeli scholars who for decades have kept a tight lid on access to the Dead Sea Scrolls are dropping their last major restriction on the ancient writings.

Emanuel Tov, editor in chief of the scrolls project for the Israel Antiquities Authority, said the group will no longer require scholars viewing the writings to promise not to publish texts of them.

The decision was announced at a meeting here this week of the Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature.

The announcement came a week after three American experts said they would publish a book of scroll photos next month. A few weeks ago, the Huntington Library in San Marino said it would make its collection of scroll photos available to researchers.

Scholars have complained for years that the scrolls were being hoarded and that the pace of publication was too slow.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said the slow pace was necessary to ensure high-quality research. About 80% of the scrolls have been published.

Considered the most important archeological find of the 20th Century, the scrolls were discovered in caves near the Dead Sea in 1947. Scholars believe they were written by members of a Jewish sect around the time of Christ.

The scrolls are stored in a vault at the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem.