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Qumran-Essene Hypothesis
According to a view almost universally held until the 1990s, the scrolls were written by a sect known as the Essenes.
Essenes were one of three Jewish religious groups, along with the Pharisees and Saducees. The Essenes are not mentioned in the New Testament.
According to this theory, the Essenes hid the scrolls in the nearby caves during the Jewish Revolt in AD 66 before being massacred by the Roman troops. A number of arguments are used to support this theory.