How it was discovered
Found during the systematic cliff survey of March 1952, Cave 3 had partially collapsed. At the back lay two rolled sheets of hammered copper, too oxidised to unroll. In 1955–56 H. Wright Baker at Manchester College of Technology sliced the scroll into 23 curved strips to read it.
Why it matters
Written in an unusual Mishnaic-style Hebrew and engraved rather than inked, the Copper Scroll is unlike anything else at Qumran. Whether it records real Temple treasure hidden before 70 CE or is a folk-legend inventory remains unresolved.
Source & further reading