Palestine Museum Denies Report That Two Dead Sea Scrolls Were Stolen

Two Dead Sea scrolls reported stolen last week by Dr. William Albright of Johns Hopkins University, are safely in the hands of the Palestine Archaeological Museum in Jordan-held Jerusalem, it was reported here this week-end from Amman.

Gerland Harding, British director of antiquities in Jordan, said that “there was no foundation” to the report cited by Prof. Albright that the scrolls had been stolen by Bedouins and were being held for ransom. He confirmed Dr. Albright’s statement that more scrolls had been found in the Dead Sea area.

(In Baltimore, Dr. Albright said that his information that two of the scrolls had been stolen came from private sources. He said Dr. Harding’s statement that the scrolls were safe was “very good news.”)