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“Discovering Israel and its museum virtually: the Shrine of the Book.”

“At this time, when we are still forced to stay at home, one of the destinations we miss the most is undoubtedly Israel—a place we cannot wait to return to with our annual tour, which has moved and inspired us so deeply in the past. In the meantime, we have decided to revisit our museum stops by celebrating them through a series of articles: a virtual journey through Israel and its museums.”

Anyone who has visited the Israel Museum in Jerusalem with us will certainly remember the Shrine of the Book, located in the museum’s archaeological wing. This remarkable building houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, among the most important archaeological discoveries of all time.

The scrolls take their name from the Qumran Caves, where the manuscripts were discovered in 1947 along the north-western shore of the Dead Sea. They consist of copies of books of the Old Testament dating from 150 BCE to 70 CE, and are traditionally associated with the ancient Jewish sect of the Essenes.”



The Shrine of the Book, designed by architects Armand P. Bartos and Frederic J. Kiesler, takes its inspiration from the shape of the jars in which the ancient manuscripts were found. The building appears as a large white dome, surrounded by constant jets of water—an allusion to the ritual purification baths practiced by the Essenes, rituals for which we have extensive evidence thanks to the archaeological excavations of 1947.

To enter the Shrine, visitors pass through a corridor evocative of the caves where the manuscripts were discovered, leading into what feels like a true temple—a sacred space of ancient Jerusalem. Here, the first seven scrolls found at Qumran are preserved under strictly controlled lighting and climate conditions.

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The dark, solemn interior contrasts sharply with the modern white exterior. This opposition is further emphasized by the presence of a smooth, austere wall of black bricks positioned near the Shrine. Rich in spiritual symbolism, it represents the “Sons of Darkness,” the enemies of the Essenes, who in turn identified themselves as the “Sons of Light.”

The interiors of the Shrine of the Book can be explored through a video made available by the Israel Museum on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG45APkkmI4&feature=youtu.be

Still connected to the period of the Essenes, near the Shrine stands the Second Temple Jerusalem Model, an impressive reconstruction covering nearly 1,000 square meters. It recreates Jerusalem as it appeared in 66 CE, on the eve of the Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans.

The model was created by Professor Michael Avi-Yonah, a specialist in ancient Jerusalem. His reconstruction is based on descriptions from Jewish sources—particularly the Mishnah—as well as the writings of the contemporary historian Flavius Josephus, alongside archaeological remains from Jerusalem and other Roman cities.

Although the rulers of the time were influenced by Greek and Roman styles—visible in the architecture, streets, and water systems—a closer look reveals the uniquely Jewish character of Jerusalem. There was only one sacred place, the Temple Mount, at the heart of the city, with a single temple devoted to one God. The ancient city featured no sculptures or reliefs depicting human or animal figures, in accordance with the Second Commandment: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.”

The splendor of the city, as reproduced in the model, was short-lived. In 66 CE the Great Revolt against the Romans erupted, and in 70 CE—after five years of fighting—the city was destroyed and the Temple burned.

The proximity of the model to the Shrine of the Book creates a powerful continuum, representing the full spectrum of Jewish society at the end of the Second Temple period. The model reflects the social, economic, and political elite, while the Shrine of the Book—through the writings of the Dead Sea Scrolls—tells the story, literature, and spiritual world of separatist groups who rejected the luxury and corruption that characterized the city at the time.

January 2021 – Author: Daniela Stefanelli

Sources and curiosities – selected by AIMIG for you:

If you want, I can also shorten this, adapt it for a museum brochure, or rewrite it in a more academic or more narrative tone.

 
 
 

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