World Culture: The Ten Commandments scroll goes on display in New York

On December 16th 2011 Discovery Times Square in New York staged an exposition which puts on show a well-preserved piece of the Dead Sea Scrolls describing the Ten Commandments. The exhibition will run until January 2nd 2012.

This scroll is the oldest one copy of the Ten Commandments which has survived up to present day. This piece of parchment is said to have survived by some miracle and now needs special storage conditions.

The piece of the parchment was discovered in 1952 in Cave 4 near Khirbet Qumran. The Ten Commandments Scroll is part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in a series of caves. When the scrolls were discovered, the area was part of the British Mandate for Palestine. It is now part of Israel.

Scrolls date between 250 BC and the year 68 CE. Scholars claim that manuscripts (all in all 900 scrolls) were written by members of a sect who broke away from mainstream Judaism and lived in the desert until their community was destroyed by the Romans.

Haaretz.com reads that the exhibit has the largest collection of biblical artifacts ever displayed outside Israel. After the New York exhibition ancient Egyptian scrolls will return back to Israel.