The artifacts, on loan from Israel, are part of a Holy Land exhibit. The historic Dead Sea Scrolls and House of David Inscription are on their way to Orange County this fall. The Dead Sea Scrolls, dating from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D., are believed to be the oldest-existing copies of books of the Old Testament. The scrolls, discovered in 1947-56 in caves northwest of the Dead Sea, will be on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Some scholars consider it the single most important artifact in Israel.
The Bowers will be the first U.S. institution to display the inscription, also known as the Tel Dan Inscription. The three-part artifact was discovered in 1993 in northern Israel and will be on loan from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. To complement the artifacts, the exhibit will feature 123 lithographs of the Holy Land by Scottish artist David Roberts, who traveled there in 1839. Other artifacts on display will include the heel bone of a crucified person and 1800s rifles and costumes. The exhibition is being co-curated by Ran Boytner of the University of California, Los Angeles, Institute of Archaeology, and Lynn Swartz Dodd of the University of Southern California's Archaeological Research Collection.