information:highlighting
Ownership

Upon their discovery in 1947 in what was then Mandatory Palestine, the Dead Sea Scrolls were first moved to the Palestine Archaeological Museum. Following the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the museum's management become the responsibility of Jordan.

Following the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, Jordan was defeated and Israel began to occupy the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Palestine Archeological Museum (soon renamed the Rockefeller Archeological Museum) fell under Israeli administration, and the Dead Sea Scrolls collection held there was moved to the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in West Jerusalem. The Israel Museum falls under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority, an official agency of the Israeli government. The permanent Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition at the museum features a reproduction of the Great Isaiah Scroll, surrounded by reproductions of other fragments that include Community Rule, the War Scroll, and the Thanksgiving Psalms Scroll.

Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection held by the Jordanian government prior to 1967 were stored in Amman rather than at the Palestine Archaeological Museum in East Jerusalem. As a consequence, that part of the collection remained in Jordanian hands, under their Department of Antiquities. Since 2013, the part of the collection held by Jordan has been on display at The Jordan Museum in Amman. Among the display items are artefacts from the Qumran site and the Copper Scroll.

Israel claims ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection currently housed at the Israel Museum. This claimed ownership is contested by both Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.