fool's gold

Hi there,

"The history of bible hunting is one not only of buried treasures but also of . As archaeologists began excavating in the Qumran caves, other Bedouin did their own digging and sold what they found to Kando. His greatest purchase was the nearly 30-foot-long Temple Scroll, the longest of the Dead Sea Scrolls."

Inside the cloak-and-dagger search for sacred texts

Fool's gold is one kind of mineral. But I seriously doubt it means that here. Is it metaphorically? like a windfall?

Thanks

Gil

It is a metaphor for things that seem to be treasures but are not. Fool's gold (iron pyrite) looks valuable but is not.

It is a common metaphor. It always is; it is a metaphor even when referring to iron pyrite, but is so well known that it has become its common name.