Ghost Scrolls—Rumoured and Longed-for Dead Sea Scrolls

ABSTRACT

There are myriads of bank boxes and vaults in the world and judging by some of the stories under scrutiny in this article, many of them contain Dead Sea Scrolls. The article analyses tales linked to three so-called ghost scrolls whilst focussing on contemporary manuscript tales as a phenomenon: What character-ises such stories? How are they developed, kept alive, and passed down? What are their functions? I will argue that these tales serve as adaptable templates for market players and bring colour and glamor to the grey market. The ghost scroll is not so much a container of text as a placeholder for hype, dreams and longing. It influences contemporary academic imaginations, expectations, desires and affects scholars’ interpretational frames.

Key words:

• Dead Sea Scrolls
• ghost scrolls
• rumoured manuscripts
• provenance
• the antiquities market