Yigael Yadin, a professor of archaeology at Hebrew University, had previously been chief of staff of the Israeli Army. As an archaeologist, in 1960, he discovered papyrus scrolls written by Shimon bar-Kochva, a commander in the Jewish Revolt. The find was kept secret for a month, before being revealed at a ceremony attended by various Israeli leaders and the international media. A subsequent Yadin lecture at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv attracted around three-thousand people.