April 20 1965 – 18 Nisan 5725
The Shrine of the Book was dedicated next to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. One of Israel’s most iconic pieces of architecture, the building was designed by American Jewish architects Armand P. Bartos and Frederic J. Kiesler. The specially shaped dome is supposed to recall the lids of the clay jars in which the scrolls were first discovered in the Qumran caves. Carefully controlled atmospheric conditions inside the structure preserve the uniquely dry, cool conditions in which the parchments survived for two milennia. The scrolls are kept in the basement of the building together with other unique manuscripts such as the Aleppo Codex (the oldest surviving biblical codex), and on the upper floor a selection of the scrolls are exhibited unrolled in special glass cases for public view. The scrolls on display are rotated periodically, to prevent damage and deterioration to the manuscripts’ delicate state of preservation.