<Li> The remainder (roughly 30%) are sectarian manuscripts of previously unknown documents that shed light on the rules and beliefs of a particular group (sect) or groups within greater Judaism, like the Community Rule, the War Scroll, the Pesher on Habakkuk, and The Rule of the Blessing . </Li> <P> The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in a series of twelve caves around the site known as Wadi Qumran near the Dead Sea in the West Bank (of the Jordan River) between 1946 and 1956 by Bedouin shepherds and a team of archeologists . The practice of storing worn - out sacred manuscripts in earthenware vessels buried in the earth or within caves is related to the ancient Jewish custom of Genizah . </P> <P> The initial discovery, by Bedouin shepherd Muhammed edh - Dhib, his cousin Jum'a Muhammed, and Khalil Musa, took place between November 1946 and February 1947 . The shepherds discovered seven scrolls (See Scrolls and fragments) housed in jars in a cave near what is now known as the Qumran site . John C. Trever reconstructed the story of the scrolls from several interviews with the Bedouin . Edh - Dhib's cousin noticed the caves, but edh - Dhib himself was the first to actually fall into one (the cave now called Cave 1). He retrieved a handful of scrolls, which Trever identifies as the Isaiah Scroll, Habakkuk Commentary, and the Community Rule, and took them back to the camp to show to his family . None of the scrolls were destroyed in this process, despite popular rumor . The Bedouin kept the scrolls hanging on a tent pole while they figured out what to do with them, periodically taking them out to show to their people . At some point during this time, the Community Rule was split in two . The Bedouin first took the scrolls to a dealer named Ibrahim' Ijha in Bethlehem .' Ijha returned them, saying they were worthless, after being warned that they might have been stolen from a synagogue . Undaunted, the Bedouin went to a nearby market, where a Syrian Christian offered to buy them . A sheikh joined their conversation and suggested they take the scrolls to Khalil Eskander Shahin, "Kando", a cobbler and part - time antiques dealer . The Bedouin and the dealers returned to the site, leaving one scroll with Kando and selling three others to a dealer for 7 Jordanian pounds (approximately $28, or $307 in 2017 dollars). The original scrolls continued to change hands after the Bedouin left them in the possession of a third party until a sale could be arranged . (See Ownership .) </P> <P> In 1947 the original seven scrolls caught the attention of Dr. John C. Trever, of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), who compared the script in the scrolls to that of The Nash Papyrus, the oldest biblical manuscript then known, and found similarities between them . In March the 1948 Arab--Israeli War prompted the move of some of the scrolls to Beirut, Lebanon, for safekeeping . On 11 April 1948, Millar Burrows, head of the ASOR, announced the discovery of the scrolls in a general press release . </P>

Who found the dead sea scrolls in 1947