The Copper Scroll is certainly one of the most intriguing of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The only text inscribed on two copper sheets, it lists the location of sixty treasures apparently in Judah in the period before the First Jewish Revolt in A.D. 70. Many scholars believe that the list is authentic, but despite numerous efforts of the years no one has ever found any of the treasure.
The Jerusalem Post reports on an Oklahoma fire marshal named Jim Barfield who believes that he knows the location of not just one or two hiding places, but 56 of them.
After looking at the scroll for five minutes he deciphered the first location, and twenty minutes later he identified the next four locations. He and his wife took their first trip to Israel to confirm whether the sites and places that he had identified actually existed. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just imagining things,” Barfield said. It took six months for Barfield to crack the code for the rest of the locations.
This guy is pretty good. He was able to figure out the locations without ever being to Israel, without knowing the language that the inscription is written in, and without having any background in archaeology or geography.
It’s nice to know what others think about his discovery:
He says that all of the archaeologists, rabbis, and historians presented with his research have been convinced. “It is so simple.” He says. “They just all thump their heads.”
Unfortunately, we only get it in Barfield’s words.
I don’t know enough to say that this guy is a fraud, only that he sounds like one. If he actually has found something, he should go dig it out and then report on it. But if he’s a publicity hound, I can write the script for the next few years: initial attempts will be stymied by various obstacles, during which time he’ll do many interviews and attempt to raise lots of money. When he finally digs at one of his spots, he’ll find nothing – no treasure and no indication that any treasure was ever hidden there. He’ll claim that it was stolen in antiquity (another round of interviews and appeals for cash) and start planning for a second excavation. Efforts to dig will be hindered by various obstacles, during which time he’ll do many interviews and attempt to raise lots of money. Etc.
The article itself is worth reading as it provides interesting and accurate information about the Copper Scroll. You can find an introduction to and translation of the scroll in Florentino Garcia Martinez, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated, 2nd ed., pages 459-63. An excellent reference is the Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls (2 volumes).
