Hey Buddy, Wanna Buy a Dead Sea Scroll?

One of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Torah Precepts scroll, provides religious instructions to members of the Jewish faith, and includes a Hebrew calendar, religious laws (called halakhot) and information about the Temple and its rituals. Credit: Library of C — One of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Torah Precepts scroll, provides religious instructions to members of the Jewish faith, and includes a Hebrew calendar, religious laws (called halakhot) and information about the Temple and its rituals. (Image credit: Library of Congress)

A family that holds pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls is quietly offering pieces of the ancient documents for sale — a move that's causing a dustup among archaeologists and biblical historians.

First discovered in a cave near the Dead Sea in 1947, the animal-skin parchments are some of the oldest known versions of the Hebrew Bible, and are treasured as near-priceless documents, The Associated Press reports.

More fragments — some as small as a postage stamp — are quietly being sold on the international antiquities market by William Kando, whose family has kept portions of the scrolls in a safe-deposit box in Switzerland.

The sale of pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls has surprised many researchers, some of whom didn't even know there were portions still available. It has also outraged some Israeli government officials, who maintain the scrolls are cultural property of Israel.

"I told Kando many years ago, as far as I'm concerned, he can die with those scrolls," Amir Ganor, head of the Israeli antiquities anti-looting division, told the AP. "The scrolls' only address is the State of Israel."

Some experts believe more ancient documents may come to light from the many caves in the Dead Sea area. "I would not at all be surprised if more material were to be found," Lenny Wolfe, a Jerusalem manuscripts dealer, told the AP.

Follow Marc Lallanilla on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

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Marc Lallanilla has been a science writer and health editor at About.com and a producer with ABCNews.com. His freelance writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and TheWeek.com. Marc has a Master's degree in environmental planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin.