As you leave Jerusalem and go to the south and to the east, toward the Dead Sea, the terrain changes rapidly and starkly. You move off gradually from [the] ... rolling hillside, through the ravines, ...

This is the introduction from noted scholar Hershel Shanks' book (Random House April 1998), an illuminating and readable background summary on the scrolls. Introduction Half a century has now passed ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Many of the Dead ...