THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

The dealer happened to be an Assyrian Christian named Khalil Iskander Shahin, known locally as Kando (pl. 3). Besides the small general store patronized by the Ta'amireh The Ta'amireh are a Bedouin tribe in the region. people, he owned a cobbler's shop next door. When the Bedouin showed him the scrolls, he showed little interest, thinking they might serve as raw material for his cobbler's business. Later, after the scrolls had been kicking around the floor of the shop for some days, he picked one up and looked more closely at the surface. The writing was as meaningless to him as it was to the Bedouin, but it occurred to him that his spiritual leaders in Jerusalem might know more about it. Accordingly, one day when he was traveling to the city, he took the scrolls along with him to the Syrian Convent of St. Mark in the Old City. This much is certain, but it must be confessed that from this point on, the story begins to break down, as love of the truth among the main actors in the drama gave way to fear and greed.

One thing is certain, however: Kando began to realize that the scrolls had some monetary value and discovered that the Bedouin had by no means cleared the cave. He and his accomplice, George, launched a minor archaeological expedition to the cave indicated by the Bedouin. They collected at least a number of large fragments and, likely at this time, the remainder of the scrolls, making seven in all. After they had taken all they could find, they seem to have let the Syrian authorities of St. Mark's in on the secret. In any case, the Metropolitan A title for a high-ranking bishop in the Eastern Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox churches. organized his own expedition to the cave. They proceeded to ransack the place, making a large opening near the ground and pulling out everything they could lay their hands on. Of course, it should be realized that all such excavations were and are completely illegal under the laws of the country, whether under the Mandate The British Mandate for Palestine (1920–1948). or the succeeding Jordan Government. All such archaeological material remains the property of the country in which it is found until the government directs otherwise. Consequently, complete secrecy shrouded all these operations, and much harm was done as a result. It is certain that the Syrians found some more