Qumran lies on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, where the Judean Desert meets a low, hot basin below limestone cliffs. The archaeological remains are known as Khirbet Qumran; the Israel Nature and Parks Authority operates the visitor site as Qumran National Park. Nearby caves made the location famous after ancient manuscripts were found there in the mid-twentieth century. The landscape is more than a dramatic backdrop: water, aridity, elevation and the route between settlement and caves are all part of how researchers interpret the place.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are not one book but a collection of manuscripts and fragments discovered in caves near Qumran. The Library of Congress notes that Bedouin discoveries in 1947 brought the first scrolls to international attention, followed by archaeological excavations and additional finds. The texts include copies of works later included in the Hebrew Bible as well as other writings from ancient Jewish communities. Their importance lies in the evidence they provide for the variety of religious texts and ideas in the period before and around the beginning of the Common Era.