Archaeologists vs robbers in Israel's race to find ancient scrolls

By Ari Rabinovitch TZEELIM VALLEY, Israel (Reuters) - The disposable paper face masks offer little protection from the clouds of dust that fill the cliffside cave where Israeli archaeologists are wrapping up the largest excavation in the Judean desert of the past half-century. The three-week excavation was the first part of a national campaign to recover as many artefacts as possible, particularly scrolls, left behind by Jewish rebels who hid in the desert some 2,000 years ago, before they are s