The Dead Sea Scrolls are a set of ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period, dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE. They were discovered over a period of 10 years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea. The scrolls are considered to be a keystone in the history of archaeology with great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the biblical canons, along with extra-biblical and deuterocanonical manuscripts that preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are mostly Hebrew manuscripts, but they also include texts in Aramaic and Greek. They were written on a variety of materials, including animal skin, papyrus, and even forged copper. The documents were recovered in the Judaean wilderness from five principal sites: Khirbat Qumrān, Wadi Al-Murabbaʿāt, Naḥal Ḥever (Wadi Khabrah) and Naḥal Ẓeʾelim (Wadi Seiyal), Wadi Daliyeh, and Masada.

The scrolls have been the subject of much debate, including their origin and authorship. The dominant theory remains that the scrolls were produced by the Essenes, a sect of Jews living at nearby Qumran, but this theory has come to be challenged by several modern scholars. The scrolls have also been instrumental in reconstructing biblical texts and have deepened our understanding of the Bible and shed light on the histories of Judaism and Christianity.

Today, the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed in various institutions, including the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and the Shrine of the Book exhibition.