Tuesday, February 28, 2006
"Priceless" Documents...........!
THE WORLD OF THE SCROLLS
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In 1947, young Bedouin shepherds, searching for a stray goat in the Judean Desert, entered a long-untouched cave and found jars filled with ancient scrolls. That initial discovery by the Bedouins yielded seven scrolls and began a search that lasted nearly a decade and eventually produced thousands of scroll fragments from eleven caves. During those same years, archaeologists searching for a habitation close to the caves that might help identify the people who deposited the scrolls, excavated the Qumran ruin, a complex of structures located on a barren terrace between the cliffs where the caves are found and the Dead Sea. Within a fairly short time after their discovery, historical, paleographic, and linguistic evidence, as well as carbon-14 dating, established that the scrolls and the Qumran ruin dated from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. They were indeed ancient! Coming from the late Second Temple Period, a time when Jesus of Nazareth lived, they are older than any other surviving manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures by almost one thousand years.
Since their discovery nearly half a century ago, the scrolls and the identity of the nearby settlement have been the object of great scholarly and public interest, as well as heated debate and controversy. Why were the scrolls hidden in the caves? Who placed them there? Who lived in Qumran? Were its inhabitants responsible for the scrolls and their presence in the caves? Of what significance are the scrolls to Judaism and Christianity............?
-from -
Scrolls From The Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship (Library Of Congress Exhibition)
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Pretty intriguing, wouldn't you agree? I get a "vivid visual picture" in my "mind's eye". Straight from an Indiana Jones or Allan Quatermain adventure. Now, I would never compare myself to "Indy" or "Quatermain", but I did some exploring the other day and found some "buried parchments" that are of historical value. Obviously not in the same category as the Dead Sea Scrolls, but nonetheless outstanding records. See what you think. All the re-produced "parchments" should be viewed full-screen. Left-click on picture, then left-click on expander-button.
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*********** HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS ***********
PRATT & WHITNEY DOUBLE WASP "B" SERIES ENGINES
(With Two-Stage Supercharger)
P&W "Double Wasp" Operators Handbook cover.
Front Left View
Left Rear View
Right Rear View
Front Cam Compartment
Main & Aux. Blower
Reduction Gearing
Lubrication Chart
Main Crank Case
Rear Section and Clutch Gear Train
Auxiliary Blower
Main Crankcase
Engine Data
F4U-5 "Corsair" Power Plant Chart
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So, there you have it. Not quite in the same league as "Biblical Documents", but nonetheless very intriguing to an "Aviation Aficionado" like myself!
"Cheers!"
The real "Dead Sea Scrolls", truly "priceless" documents.........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 1947, young Bedouin shepherds, searching for a stray goat in the Judean Desert, entered a long-untouched cave and found jars filled with ancient scrolls. That initial discovery by the Bedouins yielded seven scrolls and began a search that lasted nearly a decade and eventually produced thousands of scroll fragments from eleven caves. During those same years, archaeologists searching for a habitation close to the caves that might help identify the people who deposited the scrolls, excavated the Qumran ruin, a complex of structures located on a barren terrace between the cliffs where the caves are found and the Dead Sea. Within a fairly short time after their discovery, historical, paleographic, and linguistic evidence, as well as carbon-14 dating, established that the scrolls and the Qumran ruin dated from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. They were indeed ancient! Coming from the late Second Temple Period, a time when Jesus of Nazareth lived, they are older than any other surviving manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures by almost one thousand years.
Since their discovery nearly half a century ago, the scrolls and the identity of the nearby settlement have been the object of great scholarly and public interest, as well as heated debate and controversy. Why were the scrolls hidden in the caves? Who placed them there? Who lived in Qumran? Were its inhabitants responsible for the scrolls and their presence in the caves? Of what significance are the scrolls to Judaism and Christianity............?
-from -
Scrolls From The Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship (Library Of Congress Exhibition)
---------------------------------------------------
Pretty intriguing, wouldn't you agree? I get a "vivid visual picture" in my "mind's eye". Straight from an Indiana Jones or Allan Quatermain adventure. Now, I would never compare myself to "Indy" or "Quatermain", but I did some exploring the other day and found some "buried parchments" that are of historical value. Obviously not in the same category as the Dead Sea Scrolls, but nonetheless outstanding records. See what you think. All the re-produced "parchments" should be viewed full-screen. Left-click on picture, then left-click on expander-button.
-----------------------------------------------------
*********** HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS ***********
PRATT & WHITNEY DOUBLE WASP "B" SERIES ENGINES
(With Two-Stage Supercharger)
P&W "Double Wasp" Operators Handbook cover.
Front Left View
Left Rear View
Right Rear View
Front Cam Compartment
Main & Aux. Blower
Reduction Gearing
Lubrication Chart
Main Crank Case
Rear Section and Clutch Gear Train
Auxiliary Blower
Main Crankcase
Engine Data
F4U-5 "Corsair" Power Plant Chart
---------------------------------------------------------------------
So, there you have it. Not quite in the same league as "Biblical Documents", but nonetheless very intriguing to an "Aviation Aficionado" like myself!
"Cheers!"
The real "Dead Sea Scrolls", truly "priceless" documents.........
