The final report from Colette Loll of Art Fraud Insights has concluded that all of the Dead Sea Scroll fragments in the Museum of the Bible collection are forgeries. Loll had been hired by the Museum of the Bible to determine the authenticity of their fragments and was given complete independence, with no input from the Museum of the Bible, and was guaranteed that her report would be final and released to the public. Her team has concluded that there were numerous inconsistencies that pointed towards the fraudulent nature of the fragments, including:
- The fragments were made of the wrong material. While most of the authentic DSS fragments are tanned parchment, these were made of leather, which is thicker and and bumpier. Experts suggest that the leather itself may be ancient.
- Testing revealed that the fragments had been soaked in an amber liquid, most likely animal-skin glue, in order to mimic the waxy sheen of the real Dead Sea Scrolls
- Microscopic analysis showed that the Scripture passages were painted onto already ancient leather, with many fragments displaying ink pooling in cracks and waterfalls off of the torn edges
- The fragments appear to have been dusted with sediments from the Qumran area, where the original Dead Sea Scrolls were found
The conclusion of the team calls into question the authenticity of all of the 70+ Dead Sea Scroll fragments that surprisingly appeared on the antiquities in 2002. It does not, however, cast any suspicion on the real Dead Sea Scrolls, which are authentic and held by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
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