The Dead Sea Scrolls leave the ROM on January 3

Toronto’s opportunity to be inspired by these historical treasures
ends on January 3, 2010

Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) has offered Toronto and its visitors the unique opportunity to view one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century - the earliest record of biblical patriarchs and prophets known to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Since the exhibition’s June 27th opening, the ROM has featured 16 authentic Dead Sea Scrolls in two three-month rotations. On display, only until January 3, 2010, in the Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall on Level B2 in the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World is one of the most significant exhibitions in the ROM’s history.

As of the week ending November 8, more than 200,000 visitors have enjoyed the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition at the ROM. During the week of October 10 to 18, 46,000 visitors visited the ROM, during which one of the oldest and best preserved parchment scrolls of the Ten Commandments was displayed. Additionally, numerous scholars, adults, and families have participated in a wide array of programs offered by the Museum in conjunction with the exhibition’s engagement, facilitating the great opportunity for dialogue among varied faiths with shared roots.

Objects of great scholarly and public interest, as well as heated debate and controversy since their discovery over 60 years ago, the ROM’s showcase of the Dead Sea Scrolls includes four fragments conserved especially for this engagement, their first public display. More than 200 artifacts loaned by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), augmented by objects from the ROM’s own renowned collections, illuminate the environment in which these ancient texts were written.

At the ROM, all Scrolls are presented with full interpretations, translations, and background information, within the context of the tumultuous period in which they were written and hidden. Numerous audio visual elements, additional graphics, maps, and simulations, including a virtual reconstruction of the Second Temple, effectively enhance the story of the Scrolls. Footage on the discovery and deciphering of the Scrolls as well as a short film on their ongoing preservation and conservation by the IAA similarly add to the visitor’s experience. Immersive and ambient, large-format images depict Israel’s landscape and evoke the hot and dry Judean Desert, further effectively transporting visitors back to the time of the Scrolls’ origins.