The Museum of Bible, based in Washington DC, thought to possess some of the world’s most famous and valuable scrolls.
But the academics who tested the fragments of what they believed to be part of the historic Dead Sea Scrolls were badly disappointed when they discovered they were not original.
The museum admitted the tests run found that the exhibits “show characteristics inconsistent with ancient origin”.
As a consequence, the Museum of the Bible decided to remove the scrolls from display.
Jeffrey Kloha, the chief curatorial officer for Museum of the Bible, said in a statement: “Though we had hoped the testing would render different results, this is an opportunity to educate the public on the importance of verifying the authenticity of rare biblical artefacts, the elaborate testing process undertaken and our commitment to transparency.
“As an educational institution entrusted with cultural heritage, the museum upholds and adheres to all museum and ethical guidelines on collection care, research and display.”
The Dead Sea Scrolls are among the world’s most valuable manuscripts.
The are the oldest copies of Bible text ever found, and they include passages of the Old Testament which is believed to be 2,000 years old.
The museum is thought to have coughed up millions of dollars to buy the scrolls.
Despite that, the museum had already faced questions over the authenticity of the fragments even before the site opened in November 2017.
The museum sent five fragments to a German institute for analysing materials, the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und-prüfung (BAM) to have their ink and papyrus analysed.
The report that followed raised “suspicions about the authenticity of all five fragments”, as conceded by the museum.
The museum’s founder, Steve Green, also owns the arts and craft Hobby Lobby chain, which had faced scrutiny in 2010 for purchasing more than 5,500 artefacts from Iraq.
Following allegations the object had been illegally smuggled into the US, the chain agreed with the Department of Justice to settle the case by paying a $3m fine.
Most of the Dead Sea Scrolls are currently housed in the Shrine of the Book, a section of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
The excavation and selling of these precious fragments have been prohibited by a UN convention on cultural property.
The move, however, doesn’t forbid the selling of items removed before 1970, which allows private sellers to fight over the few remaining.