Despite its impenetrable nature, historians have taken a shot at unlocking the secrets of the Copper Scroll, with its mix of Hebrew and Greek characters. Per Biblical Archaeology Society, Joan E. Taylor of King’s College London believes that what is known about the scroll thus far suggests that it maps the treasure of the Jerusalem Temple. “The enormous size of the treasure, as well as the presence of cultic terminology (e.g., references to tithes, priestly vestments) included in the text, indicates the treasure’s sacred origin,” she wrote in “Secrets of the Copper Scroll,” which was published in 2019 in Biblical Archaeology Review (posted at Academia).

There are other theories that also attempt to make sense of the enigmatic manuscripts and the ancient treasure they point to. History noted that some believe the treasure might have belonged to local Essenes, a Jewish group described by New World Encyclopedia as ascetic and strict. Others think the Romans swept up the riches as they pillaged Judea in the first century CE. Still other researchers are even less optimistic and suggest the riches might have never existed to begin with.