MORE ON THE NEW ORIENTAL INSTITUTE EXHIBIT:

Museum's basement reveals hidden treasures (Chicago Sun-Times)

January 28, 2005

BY DAVE NEWBART Staff Reporter

In contrast to the many exotic spots where University of Chicago researchers have uncovered archeological treasures, this one was right under their noses.

In fact, some of the items soon to be on display in a new gallery at the university's Oriental Institute were found only recently -- in the institute's basement.

[...]

The exhibit also covers the history of early Israel, focusing on the town of Megiddo, the site of numerous battles and referred to in the Bible as Armageddon. It includes a small, intricately carved ivory griffin from the 13th century B.C. that has since become the city's symbol, Emberling said.

The exhibit includes a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, one of a few in the United States, which the institute bought in Jordan in 1956.

Which fragment is it?

UPDATE: Stephen Goranson e-mails to point me to this image of the fragment, which gives some information it. The caption says "The text on this fragment comes from a non- biblical Essene psalter, similar to the Psalms of the Bible." It doesn't give a siglum, so I can't look the fragment up, but evidently it's something from a Hodayot-like collection of nonbiblical psalms. Does anyone have any more specific information?

Incidentally, I see that there is also an inscribed ossuary in the exhibit, bearing the Hebrew epitaph "Yo-ezer, son of Yehohanan, the scribe."

And, more generally, follow this link for a page of highlights of the collection.

UPDATE: Stephen Goranson e-mails: "Thanks to Stephen A. Reed et al., The Dead Sea Scrolls Catalog: Documents, Photographs... (1994) 467 it's correctly identified as from 4Q184, DJD V, plate XXVII, frag. 2."

UPDATE: Chuck Jones e-mails a link to a better photo of the fragment.



UPDATE (31 January): More on the identification of the fragment here.