During November 2018, Professor Marcello Fidanzio gained access to view and examine the Dead Sea Scroll Jars and materials held at the Shrine of the Book Museum in Jerusalem together with Isabella Bossolino (shown below). The network is particularly grateful to curator, Dr Hagit Maoz, for her valuable assistance in preparing drawings and photographs of the pottery at this time.
Further meetings with Dr Na’ama Sukenik (Textile Technologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority) at Mount Scopus took place, with Dr Sukenik shown below with Isabella:
With further assistance of Dr Emile Puech, the team were also given access to the jar and lid (assumed to have been found in Cave 11Q), which is currently held in the Kando Souvenir Shop in Bethlehem. This has facilitated the production of improved drawings and photographic documentation. Both Adolfo Roitman and Hagit Maoz were extremely helpful and were able to provide further details relating to the restoration of this jar to Professor Fidanzio.
Additional visits to the holdings at the Rockefeller Museum in East Jerusalem, and also the Bible Museum, were carried out. The Bible Museum jar is labelled Q29-5, from Qumran Cave 29 (in the 1952 survey) and the lid (Q23), is from Cave 1. Examined below:
Seated below (with laptop) is Dr Benedetta Torrini, from the archaeological Museum in Florence, who has assisted Professor Fidanzio previously on his 11Q excavations.
Network for the Study of Dispersed Qumran Cave Artefacts and Archival Sources (DQCAAS) 