Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 12, 1995 TAG: 9508140076
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: JERUSALEM LENGTH: Medium
Archaeologists, who announced the year-old discovery Friday, are racing against time before the Qumran area of the West Bank is handed over to Palestinian control. Excavation is set to begin in November.
``I know we are running out of time,'' said Hanan Eshel an archaeologist from Bar Ilan University, who discovered the caves. ``A lot of things can happen: They may collapse, someone may loot them or maybe the political situation will change.''
The caves are not far from where Arab shepherds found the first Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient manuscripts that include poetry, legal texts and the earliest known sections of the Bible.
The scrolls were found in 11 natural and man-made caves between 1947 and 1956, during which time the area was under Jordanian control. Man-made caves yielded the majority of the manuscripts - raising the expectation among archaeologists that the latest caves may contain new treasures.
The newly discovered caves are carved in marl, a crumbly mix of clay, sand and limestone, similar to one of the earlier caves that contained 530 of the 850 Dead Sea Scrolls.
Unfortunately, the scrolls found in the marl cave had not survived well, and archaeologists still are piecing together the 15,000 fragments unearthed there.
``The chances of finding scrolls in good condition are not very high,'' Eshel conceded.
Eshel believes the caves were inhabited by the Essenes, a Jewish sect that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls and lived in the area between about 150 B.C. and A.D. 50. He said he has located trails leading from the caves to the Essenes' settlement at Qumran.
``Even if we don't find anything and they are totally empty, it offers more information on how these people lived,'' he said.
Because the area around Qumran was so extensively excavated and surveyed after the scrolls were found, the discovery of the caves about a year ago was a surprise to experts.
To prevent looting, their existence was kept secret until the archaeologists were ready to begin excavation. The entrances have been hidden and the exact locations have not been disclosed.
``They haven't been touched. These caves are pure and sealed,'' said Magen Broshi, the former curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum. Broshi came out of retirement to join the excavation with Eshel.
Palestinians have criticized as plundering the hurried Israeli efforts to excavate archaeological sites in areas being turned over to Palestinian rule. Before turning over the Jericho region, ``Operation Scroll'' unearthed 2nd century documents, jewelry and coins.
Palestinian officials were unavailable for comment on the latest announcement Friday, the Muslim sabbath. The Palestinian Authority has a small, fledgling unit concerned with archaeology that has undertaken digs inside Jericho.
But Eshel and Broshi both expressed concerns that the Palestinians would have little interest and limited resources to organize an excavation or protect the sites if the Israelis handed the area over to them in a peace deal.
``No Arab archaeologist ever worked in Qumran. It is a site interesting to Christians and Jews, but the Palestinians never worked there. ... If it were handed over I think it would be robbed before any excavation would be done,'' Eshel said.
Broshi said he was not as concerned with speed in the upcoming excavations because peace negotiations on expanding Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank talks seemed to be progressing slowly. But if the area were transferred before excavations began, he alleged, the caves would be plundered ``quicker than you can say Jack Robinson.''
Eshel said he would be working with Vendyl Jones, a Texas bible scholar who has led archaeological digs to the Qumran area in search of the lost ark.
by CNB