The Dead Sea Scrolls are perhaps the greatest archaeological find of our time. Produced by Jewish monastic Essenes, the scrolls number about 800; 200 of which are of biblical material. In 1947, shepherds discovered them quite by accident in caves above the Wadi Qumran Valley, northwest of the Dead Sea. A few of the scholars and archaeologists who contributed to their discovery and verification include E. L. Sukenik, G. Lankester Harding, Roland G. de Vaux, Yigael Yadin and William F. Albright.