The Shrine of the Book (Hebrew: היכל הספר, Heikhal HaSefer), a wing of the Israel Museum near Givat Ram in Jerusalem, houses the Dead Sea Scrolls—discovered 1947–56 in 11 caves in and around the Wadi Qumran. Initially, it was intended to build the shrine on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University, adjoining the National Library. The building was constructed in 1965, funded by the family of David Samuel Gottesman, a Hungarian philanthropist. The shrine is built as a white dome, covering a structure placed two-thirds below the ground, that is reflected in a pool of water that surrounds it. Across from the white dome is a black basalt wall. The colors and shapes of the building are based on the imagery of the Scroll of the War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness; the white dome symbolizes the Sons of Light and the black wall symbolizes the Sons of Darkness. As the fragility of the scrolls makes it impossible to display all on a continuous basis, a system of rotation is used. After a scroll has been exhibited for 3–6 months, it is removed from its showcase and placed temporarily in a special storeroom, where it "rests" from exposure. The museum also holds other rare ancient manuscripts and displays The Aleppo Codex. youtube/watch?v=uvZaEJiBcJw
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 19:58:07 +0000
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