Manuscript 3Q15 of the Dead Sea Scrolls (also referred to as The Copper Scroll) was found in Cave 3 on March 20, 1952. The text was punched into a scroll of 99% pure copper and is a different form of Hebrew than other Dead Sea Scrolls, with Greek lettering at the end of some lines. The entire thing is a list of 64 locations where a bunch of buried treasure is hidden in and around the Jerusalem area. Unfortunately, all of the directions point to places that existed 2000 years ago. Erosion, land shift, the changing of inhabitants, warring, and the passage of two millennia has left the area a virtually completely different place than it was at the time of the list's composition; locating the map points is none too easy. If there really are hordes of buried rich stuff out there, no one (no one who's telling anyway) has ever been able to find the loot.

See The Copper Scroll for more detailed background information.


Column 1
1In the ruin that is in the Valley of Achor, under
2the steps, with the entrance at the east a distance of forty
3cubits: a strongbox of silver and its vessel -
4seventeen talents by weight. KEN
5In the sepulcher,in the third course of stones:
6one hundred ingots of gold. In the big cistern that is in the courtyard
7of the peristyle, at its bottom concealed by a sealing ring,
8across from the upper opening: nine hundred talents of silver coins.
9In the mound of Kohlit: votive vessels - all of them flasks - and high-priestly garmenture.
10All the votive offerings and what becomes from the seventh treasury are
11impure second tithe. The cache's opening is at the edge of the aqueduct, six
12cubits to the north of the immersion pool. CHAG
13In the plastered Reservoir of Manos, at the descent to the left,
14three cubits up from the bottom: silver coins
15totaling forty talents.
Column 2
1In the salt pit that is under the steps:
2forty-one talents of silver coins. HN
3In the cave of the old Washer's Chamber, on the
4 third terrace: sixty-five ingots of gold. THE
5In the burial chamber: vessels and seventy talents of silver coins.
6In a recess in the burial chamber: vessels and seventy talents of silver coins.
7In the cistern opposite the eastern gate,
8at a distance of nineteen cubits: in it are vessels.
9And in the conduit of the cistern: ten talents of silver coins. DI
10In the cistern that is under the wall on the east,
11at the crag of the bedrock: six jars of silver coins.
12The cistern's entrance is under the big threshold.
13In the pool that is on the east of Kohlit, in the
14northern corner, dig down four cubits:
15twenty-two talents of silver coins.
Column 3
In the courtyard ... under the southern
2corner, dig down nine cubits: votive vessels of silver and gold,
3sprinkling basins, cups, bowls,
4and pitchers, numbering six hundred and nine.
5Under the other corner - the eastern one -
6dig down sixteen cubits: forty
7talents of silver coins. TR
8In the dry well that is in Milham, on its north:
9votive vessels, priestly clothes. Its entrance
10is under the western corner.
11In the grave that is in Milham, on the
12northeast, three cubits under
13the corpse: thirteen talents of silver coins. SK
Column 4
1In the big cistern that is in Kohlit, at a pillar
2on its north: fourteen ... talents of silver coins. SK
3In the aqueduct that comes from ... at a distance of
4four cubits as you enter, silver coins
totaling fifty-five.
5Between the two boulders on the Vale of Achor,
6right at the midpoint between them, dig down three
7cubits: two cauldrons full of silver coins.
8In the red dry well on the edge of the Wadi Atsla:
9silver coins totaling two hundred talents.
10In the dry well on the northeast of Kohlit:
11silver coins totaling seventy talents.
12In the cairn of the Secacah Valley, dig down one
13cubit: twelve talents of silver coins.
Column 5
1At the head of the aqueduct of the
2Secacah Valley, on the north, under the
3big stone, dig down
4three cubits: seven talents of silver coins.
5In the fissure that is in the Secacah, to the east of
6the Pool of Solomon: vessels of
7votive offerings, along with their inventory list.
8Above Solomon's Canal,
9sixty cubits toward the large cairn,
10dig down
11three cubits: twenty-three talents of silver coins.
12In the grave that is in the Wadi Kepah
13at the point of entry as you go from Jericho to Secacah,
14dig down seven cubits: thirty-two talents of silver coins.
Column 6
1In the cave of the pillar that has two
2openings and faces east,
at the northern opening, dig down
3three cubits : there, an urn
4in which is one scroll; under it,
5forty-two talents of silver coins.
6In the cave at the corner
7of the large cairn, the one that
8faces east, dig down at the opening
9nine cubits: twenty-one talents of silver coins.
10In the Queen's Mausoleum, on the
11western side, dig down twelve
12cubits: twenty-seven talents of silver coins.
13At the cairn by the ford of the
Column 7
1High Priest, dig down
2nine cubits: twenty-two ... talents of silver coins.
3In the aqueduct of the ...
4the ... northern reservoir ...
5having four sides,
6measure out from its rim twenty-four cubits:
7four hundred talents of silver coins.
8In the cave that is next to the cold-chamber belonging to
9the family of Hakkoz, dig down six cubits:
10six jars of silver coins.
11At Dok, under the eastern corner of
12the guardhouse, dig down seven cubits:
13twenty-two talents of silver coins.
14At the mouth of the wellspring of Kobizah,
15dig down three cubits to the row of stones:
16eighty talents of silver coins; two talents of gold coins.
Column 8
1In the aqueduct that is on the road east of the
2storehouse:
3tovise vessels and ... books.
4In the outer gorge, at the stone in the
5middle of the sheepfold: dig down seventeen
6cubits beneath it:
7seventeen talents of silver and gold coins.
8In the cairn at the mouth of the gorge of the Wadi Qidron,
9dig down three cubits: seven talents of silver coins.
10In the fallow field of the Valley of Shaveh that faces
11southwest, in the burial chamber
12facing north, dig down
13twenty-four cubits: sixty-six talents of silver coins.
14In the courtyard of the Valley of Shaveh, at the burial chamber that is in it, dig down
15eleven cubits:
16seven talents of silver coins.
Column
1At the dovecote that is at the edge of the Wadi Nataf, measure from the dovecote's edge
2thirteen cubits and dig down seven cubits: seven
3talents of silver coins and four stater coins.
4In the second estate, at the burial chamber that faces
5east, dig down eight
6and one half cubits: twenty-three and one half talents of silver coins.
7At the Vaults of Beth Horon, at the burial chamber facing
8west, in the recess, dig down sixteen cubits:
9twenty-two talents of silver coins
10At the Pass: silver coins totaling one mina, and consecrated Temple offering.
11At the wellspring near the edge of the aqueduct,
12on the east over against the wellspring, dig down seven
13cubits: nine talents of silver coins.
14At the dry well north of the mouth of Beth
15Tamar's gorge, at the outlet of the Pele Ravine:
16all that is in it is consecrated Temple offering.
17At the dovecote that is in the Fortress of Nobah, at the border
Column 10
1on the south, in the second roof-chamber - whose entrance descends
2from above -: nine talents of silver coins.
3In the lime-plastered cistern that had conduits drawing water from the Great
4Wadi, at the cistern's bottom: eleven talents of silver coins.
5At the reservoir of Beth Hakerem, on the left
6as you enter, dig down ten cubits: silver coins totaling
7sixty-two talents.
8At the tank of the Zered Gorge, at the western burial chamber - the one with
9a black stone for an opening - dig down two cubits:
10the hundred talents of silver coins,
11gold coins, and twenty vessels containing Temple penalty fees.
12Under Absalom's Monument, on the western
13side, dig down twelve cubits:
14eighty talents of silver coins.
15At the tank of the water reserve of Rachel, under
16the trough: seventeen talents of silver coins
17In the Upper Pool,
Column 11
1In its four corners: votive vessels, and their inventory list is next to them.
2Under the southern corner of the Stoa,
3at Zadok's grave, under the column of the small portico:
4ten votive vessels, and their inventory list is next to them.
5At the Throne - the peak of the cliff facing west -
6opposite Zadok's Garden, under the great
7closing-stone that is at the edge: gold coins and consecrated offering,
8At the grave that is under the Knife: forty-one talents of silver coins.
9At the grave of the common people - it is ritually pure -
10in it: fourteen votive vessels,
11and their inventory list is next to them.
12At the entryway to the terrace of the western mausoleum,
13at the brook along the ... : vessels totaling nine hundred;
Column 12
1five talents of gold coins; sixty talents of silver coins. Its entrance is on the west.
2Under the black stone: oil vessels. Under the threshold
3of the crypt: forty-two talents of silver coins.
4On Mount Gerizim, under the step of the upper ditch:
5one chest and all its vessels, and silver coins totaling sixty-one talents.
6At the mouth of the fountain of Beth Shem: silver and gold
7votive vessels, and silver coins. The sum total: six hundred talents.
8In the big pipe of the cistern, at the point where it joins the cistern:
9a sum total, by weight, of seventy-one talents and twenty minas.
10In the dry well that is at the north of Kohlit, with an opening on the north
11and graves by its mouth: a copy of this inventory list,
12with explanations and measurements and full detail for each
13and every hidden item.
Translation by Michael Wise