David Hilzenrath's Storefront

As serialized at ...

About the Story

In 1883, a Jerusalem merchant claimed to have purchased from a Bedouin an unusual text found in a cave near the Dead Sea. He was on the verge of selling it to the British Museum for £1 million when he was denounced as a fraud.

Disgraced and destitute, he committed suicide. His artifact was lost to history.

Generations later, the forgotten man holds the key to a Jerusalem bombing and a 2,000-year-old mystery.

About David Hilzenrath

David Hilzenrath is an investigative reporter on the financial news staff of The Washington Post. He began work on this project in 1996 while on a fellowship at the University of Michigan.

He was inspired by two enigmas from the realm of biblical archaeology: a 19th Century antiquities dealer who was hounded to his death, and a deteriorating scroll etched in copper, unearthed in the Judean Desert in 1952, describing an ancient hidden treasure.

The research for Jezebel's Tomb spanned years and miles, taking Hilzenrath from archaeological sites in the Middle East to the Harvard Divinity School library and beyond.

Contact David Hilzenrath at hilzenrath@washpost.com.


engage Author David Hilzenrath answered readers' questions about the project. Read the Web chat transcript. Start reading at Day 1.	*As serialized at ...* About the Story In 1883, a Jerusalem merchant claimed to have purchased from a Bedouin an unusual text found in a cave near the Dead Sea. He was on the verge of selling it to the British Museum for £1 million when he was denounced as a fraud. Disgraced and destitute, he committed suicide. His artifact was lost to history. Generations later, the forgotten man holds the key to a Jerusalem bombing and a 2,000-year-old mystery. About David Hilzenrath David Hilzenrath is an investigative reporter on the financial news staff of The Washington Post. He began work on this project in 1996 while on a fellowship at the University of Michigan. He was inspired by two enigmas from the realm of biblical archaeology: a 19th Century antiquities dealer who was hounded to his death, and a deteriorating scroll etched in copper, unearthed in the Judean Desert in 1952, describing an ancient hidden treasure. The research for Jezebel's Tomb spanned years and miles, taking Hilzenrath from archaeological sites in the Middle East to the Harvard Divinity School library and beyond. Contact David Hilzenrath at hilzenrath@washpost.com.
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