In Israel, Archaeologists and Looters Race to Acquire a Piece of History Tara Kavaler The new Dead Sea Scrolls discovery reflects the latest showdown between the two groups In a country where half of the land is considered an ancient historical site, archaeologists and illegal excavators are engaged in a very public race to see who can get their hands on artifacts first. The first Dead Sea Scrolls finding in nearly six decades, announced March 16 by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), marks a major victory for archaeologists. Through the most recent operation, the Israeli archeologists and researchers were able to reach the artifacts buried in a cave in the Judean Desert before they could be discovered and taken away by looters, Joe Uziel, head of the Dead Sea Scrolls unit at the IAA, told The Media Line. In addition, they “found them in their original context,” he said.