Who Forged the Dead Sea Scrolls? A conversation with Prof. Erin Thompson

Between 1996–2014, private collectors managed to successfully purchase over a hundred fragments claimed to belong to the Dead Sea Scrolls, and nearly all of them have turned out to be modern forgeries. After millions of dollars changed hands, years of scholarly promotion followed by investigation, and eventually embarrassing lawsuits, the story of the post-2002 Dead Sea Scrolls-like forgeries is a cautionary tale about provenance, trafficking, devotion and greed. Who was behind this shocking fraud? Join me and @Vishanti for a special live discussion with Erin Thompson, America's only professor of art crime at CUNY, who is currently working on a fascinating book project that tracks this incredible tale among others in the shady world of antiquities markets. Prof. Thompson will be on hand to answer your questions at the end of the show. Superchat for priority. Find out more about Erin Thompson, and check out her books: https://www.artcrimeprof.com/ Please, also subscribe to @Vishanti donate to the Vishlist! https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/7QUUIVBLOLVG?ref_=wl_share I have Channel Memberships! Join today to unlock emojis, special live chat options and early access to my videos. Interested in learning biblical Hebrew? Check out the course offerings at Digital Hammurabi, where you can choose from a growing selection of ancient languages: https://www.digitalhammurabi.com/language-classes If you would like to help with the completion of my new book, "Propaganda & Rituals: Religions of Ancient Israel & the Bible" (working title), then click here, and click often: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=U4YYY68KYGHUY Patrons get early access to all my material for as little as $4 a month: https://www.patreon.com/kippdavis Buy my 14-hour, 18-lecture course, "Real Israelite Religions: Facts on the Ground and Propaganda in the Bible," and own it for life: https://sales.mvp-courses.com/israelite-religions/?affiliate=mythvision Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrKippDavis Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/drkippd.bsky.social