The Dead Sea Scrolls (also called the Qumran records, discovered in caves near the ancient settlement of Qumran by the Dead Sea between 1946 and 1956) are a collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts dating roughly from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE. They include biblical texts, sectarian rules, hymns, and apocryphal/pseudepigraphal works like multiple copies of the Book of Enoch and the Book of Giants.In the context of the Paleo-SETI (paleocontact or ancient astronauts) hypothesis — and specifically the idea of advanced extraterrestrial humanoids like the Anunnaki (from Sumerian mythology, reinterpreted by authors like Zecharia Sitchin as ET visitors who engineered humanity) — proponents argue that these scrolls add indirect support or "empower" the theory in a few ways

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• The Book of Enoch and Watchers/fallen angels — Several Aramaic fragments of 1 Enoch were found among the scrolls (more copies than any other non-biblical text). This book describes the Watchers (a group of angels or divine beings) who descended to Earth, mated with human women, taught forbidden knowledge (metallurgy, astronomy, sorcery), and produced giant offspring called Nephilim. Ancient astronaut theorists equate these Watchers with the Anunnaki (or similar ET "gods") who allegedly came from another planet (often Nibiru in Sitchin-inspired versions), genetically modified early humans, and shared advanced tech. The scrolls preserve older versions of these ideas, which some see as evidence of real humanoid ET interventions rather than pure myth.
• The Book of Giants — This fragmentary text (also from Qumran) expands on the Nephilim giants, naming figures like Gilgamesh (linked by some to Mesopotamian lore) and describing their destructive existence and ultimate doom. Proponents connect this to Anunnaki-Nephilim parallels, suggesting it reflects memories of hybrid ET-human giants or advanced beings on Earth.
• Noah's origins and the Lamech Scroll — Popularized in shows like Ancient Aliens, this scroll questions Noah's parentage, describing his miraculous birth (glowing eyes, etc.) in ways interpreted as evidence of artificial insemination or ET genetic intervention (e.g., by "guardians of the sky" or Watchers/Anunnaki). The flood is reframed as cleanup of "genetic mistakes" from such mingling.
• Broader links to Elohim and biblical "gods" — Terms like Elohim (often plural in Hebrew, translated as "God" but literally "powers" or "gods") are sometimes reinterpreted as plural ET beings (Anunnaki-like). The scrolls' emphasis on angelic hierarchies and cosmic battles fuels ideas that biblical narratives encode ET contact, with Qumran texts preserving uncensored versions suppressed in later canon.

However, mainstream scholarship views these as Jewish religious literature from the Second Temple period (likely linked to the Essenes or a similar sectarian group), reflecting mythological expansions on Genesis 6 (sons of God/daughters of men). The Anunnaki connection stems from pseudoscientific reinterpretations (especially Sitchin, widely criticized for mistranslations of Sumerian texts), not direct evidence in the scrolls themselves. No Qumran text mentions Anunnaki, Nibiru, or explicit aliens — the links are speculative, blending Mesopotamian, biblical, and Enochic traditions.In short, while the scrolls enrich our understanding of ancient Jewish angelology, giant lore, and divine-human interactions (providing older witnesses to ideas in Enoch), they "empower" the Paleo-SETI/Anunnaki humanoid ET hypothesis only through interpretive leaps by ancient astronaut theorists, not through direct confirmation.