Les manuscrits de la Mer Morte

The first scrolls making up part of what we have come to call the Dead Sea manuscripts were discovered in 1947. During the process of their decoding, an abundance of literature came to the fore all over the world, presenting the layperson with an overwhelming number of options. Millar Burrows, currently the head of the Middle Eastern languages and literature Department at the University of Yale, is considered to be the leading American authority on oriental research, and has twice been the director of the American Oriental research school in Jerusalem, a post he occupied at the time the Dead Sea manuscripts were discovered. Furthermore, the account provided of the affair’s twists and turns (discovery and controversies) is considered to be the most complete, reliable and also captivating produced thus far. With the additional translation of the key sections of the decoded manuscripts (Damascus Document, Habakkuk Commentary, Manual of discipline, extracts from the War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness, extracts from the Hymns of actions and graces), this work is therefore viewed as the fundamental book on “the most sensational archaeological discovery of modern times”.