Israel to House Dead Sea Scrolls and Two Million Artifacts Under one Roof

Israel is building what has been called an archaeological library that will house the largest ever collection of ancient artifacts in the Middle East.

The new archaeological centre, currently under construction in Jerusalem, is being made to house about two million artifacts, including the world's largest collection of Dead Sea Scrolls under one roof.

The building will serve as a one stop centre to view a hoard of treasures that date back as far as 5,000 years, according to Israel's Antiquities Authority (IAA).

Some 15,000 fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls will be one of the highlights of the new state-of-the-art centre.

Currently secured in Israel Museum, the Dead Sea Scrolls are one of the world's oldest texts of the Hebrew Bible dating back to about 120 BC and as old as 300 BCE.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the 1950's by a shepherd in the Qumran caves at the northern part of the Dead Sea near Israel. The scrolls consist of about 900 texts.

The new 377,000 square foot building, scheduled to be inaugurated in 2016, will be IAA's first public centre for exhibiting its collection, most of which are currently stored in large warehouses and are closed to the public, the Associated Press reported.

"It's dazzling...to look at 12,000 ancient glass pieces complete, or the entirety of ancient textiles, or 10,000 oil lamps," Jacob Fisch, director of the Friends of the Antiquities Authority, a fundraising group involved in the project, said.

"You will be able to walk through actual national treasures and look into the wealth of the archaeological heritage of the land of Israel."

Besides rare artifacts, the building will also house about 150,000 books, including 500 rare books, and will also serve as a research centre for Israeli archaeology and history.

Restoration labs with observation windows for the public to take a look at conservation work will also be made.