The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran: The Essene Record of the Treasure of Akhenaten

Rating:
Summary: Convincing conjecture
Review:  How interesting to see the author of the book post his own review. It reminds you that an actual person was responsible for the words therein. I am currently working on a report about this book for my Seminary class on the Dead Sea Scrolls. "The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran" presents convincing arguments, and the proposed revision of speculated history makes sense, on the whole. I would guess that Mr. Feather's inferences that were based on actual scholarship (chapters 1-3) are mostly correct. This would include an original theory about the weights and numbering system of the Copper Scroll (which would fall into his area of expertise, metallurgy). Chapters 4-20, however, though not pure fabrication (ie The DaVinci Code) as an earlier reviewer suggested, can only be classified as conjecture based on
circumstantial evidence and human imagination. Are the conclusions possible? Yes. In fact, that's the extent of the evidence provided for some of these conclusions. Often times, he will preface an argument with something along the lines of "it's not inconceivable..." Chapter 20 is an absolute farce. Throughout my reading, I was looking forward to the "Academic and Scholarly Reaction", only to discover that most of the academic and scholarly reactions are from the author himself. Finally, a couple of scholars confirm that the ideas presented are "not unreasonable".

The stated purpose of the book is to unlock the mystery of the copper scroll. In actuality, about three quarters of the book is devoted to proving that Judaism (and ultimately Christianity and Islam) came, not from God, but from Egyptian Pharaohs who passed their philosophies on to three patriarchs (Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph). Moses is stated to have been a non-Jewish Prince of Egypt, descended from an assumed sexual encounter generations earlier between Amenhotep I and Sarai (Abram's wife). He supposedly picked up a wife and side of monotheism in Ethiopia (when the Bible said he was in Midian), then returned to Egypt, recruited the entire nation of Israelites whom he purchased from the new Pharaoh, and took them, along with the former monotheistic priests who had been ousted by the resurgence of polytheism, to Canaan. Levite priests had a history of backsliding towards their polytheistic roots, but the line of Atenist (Aten was the name of the monotheistic god Akhenaten believed in) priests preserved the truth, ultimately from Qumran.

The Copper Scroll, then, is a list of the locations of treasures from the Temple of Aten (in Akhetaten, present-day El-Amarna), and possibly some from Solomon's Temple. Mr. Feather explains where he believes each of the items that have not already been found might be buried. This chapter of nearly 50 pages (among several chapters with fewer than 10 pages) does not flow well. The only way to follow it without complete confusion is to keep a finger in the Appendix which gives the text of the Copper Scroll. Even still, he jumps back and forth, skipping lines he feels are unimportant. More maps and diagrams would also help the reader to picture in their mind and understand the various hypotheses. When the text does refer to supplemental "plates" and "figures", you have a treasure hunt of your own to find them.

Editorial mistakes, uses of the word "penultimate", and theories based on possibility rather than evidence combine to outnumber points that can be considered scholarly. The entire thesis falls apart if many scholars are correct in dating the Exodus to the 15th century BC -- 100 years before Akhenaten -- or in dating Abram's lifetime to the 20th, 21st, or 22nd century BC -- almost half a millennium before Amenhotep I, who supposedly invented the concept of a single Supreme Being, Feather assumes that Abram was in Egypt around the turn of the 15th century BC, Joseph in the 14th century BC, and Moses in the 13th century BC. If the authority of the Bible (which Feather accepts only when it supports his thesis) is accepted, the connection between Egypt and Judaism as presented in this book is simply impossible to buy. There are, however, too many parallels to completely deny any connection (e.g. Psalm 104 compared with an ancient hymn to Aten that was found in a tomb in El-Amarna). If the author were more concerned with objective scholarship and less concerned with proving that which is "not inconceivable", he might provide a much more significant contribution to scholarship.

Rating:
Summary: A Scholarly Page Turner
Review: A must read for anyone interested in the mystery behind the Dead Sea Scrolls. Well researched and scholarly yet reads as easily as a good mystery novel. Establishes the Egyptian roots of Judaic monotheism. Though found at Qumran, the copper scroll lists treasures hidden in Akhenaten's city, modern Tel-el-Amarna, Egypt. As a metalurgist and scholar Feather brings intelligence and knowledge together to establish the Egyptian source of this enigmatic artifact. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Where did akhenatens treasure GO??? By Queen Kiya wife no 2
Review: I loved reading this book the author has done a lot of reserch about the subject, it was always intriguing it was like being on a mystical treasure hunt. If you like reading about akhehnaten this is something different from the usual akhenaten books. Well done Robert Feather.

Rating:
Summary: Author's Response
Review: One of the reviews of my book, by an anonymous reader, states I have some responsibility for recent damage at Amarna by treasure hunters, because I suggest possible locations of treasure in my book.
Firstly the recent damage was to boundary stelae, which I never suggested were treasure locations. Not even an idiot blows up a place where he or she is looking for valuables. This was clearly an act of vandalism in a region where political dissension and resentment has an ongoing history. Robbery at Amarna, and for that matter tombs and historical sites across Egypt has been going on for thousands of years, and is still going on. Am I responsible for these too? I deplore these acts. Patently it is nonsense and small minded to suggest anyone should stop indicating the possible location of artefacts. There are dozens of books and articles on the treasures of the Copper Scroll, citing possible places of treasures. Are they all to be withdrawn from publication - not to mention every other work that postulates potential new places where something important lies hidden.
The nameless reader claims the book contains fabrications. I challenge him, or her, to say what has been fabricated. A number of eminent scholars, including Professor Harold Ellens, of Michigan University, Drs Minna and Kenneth Lonnqvist, University of Helsinki, and many more, have come out and backed my central theory and the evidence is pilling up that there was indeed a connection from Amarna to the Second Temple Israelite period, and specifically to the Qumran-Essenes.

Rating:
Summary: A recipe for vandalism
Review: This is probably the only book I have ever read which was not only absolute fabrication but also responsible for the destruction of ancient monuments. The author has taken a bunch of half-digested theory about mythical items and fabricated a theory. While this might otherwise be only amusing, recent reports from archaeologists at the site of Akhenaten's capital city point out that a couple of the ancient boundary stela have been blown up by treasure hunters. (The book was abstracted in Arabic and published in one of Egypt's major newspapers). Although the author cannot be held directly responsible for this, his far-fetched theories are the direct inspiration for these vandals' acts.