THE ONLY SURVIVING QUMRAN STYLUS

MS 5095/3
MS Short Title THE ONLY SURVIVING QUMRAN STYLUS
Text PALM LEAF STYLUS WITH NATURAL INK GROOVE
Description Stylus of palm leaf with natural ink groove, Qumran, late 1st c. BC - 68 AD, 8,6x0,9x0,5 cm, dried ink remaining on the tip.
Context For a Qumran inkwell, see MS 1655/2. The Temple Scroll, with the 12 fragments MS 5095/1, the scroll's linen wrapper MS 5095/2, and a palm leaf pen, MS 5095/3, were found together in a large jar with lid (still in Kando's shop in Jerusalem), in Cave 11 in 1956. The Temple Scroll is now in Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum.
Provenance 1. Community of the Essenes, Qumran (early 1st c. - 68 AD); 2. Qumran Cave 11 (68-1956); 3. Bedouins of the Ta'amireh tribe, Judaean desert (1956); 4. Khalil Iskander Shahin ("Kando"), Bethlehem (1956-1961); 5. Private collection, Switzerland (gift from Kando) (1961-1980) and heirs.
Commentary The only surviving stylus or pen from Qumran.
Place of origin Qumran
Dates late 1c BC - early 1c AD