John Marco Allegro (17 February 1923 - 17 February 1988) was a controversial archaeologist and Dead Sea Scrolls scholar.

Allegro published a translation of the Copper Scroll two years before the official version published by Józef Milik. He is best known for his book, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, in which he posits that Jesus in the Gospels was actually a code for a type of hallucinogen, the Amanita muscaria, and that Christianity was the product of an ancient "sex-and-mushroom" cult. Although recognized as iconoclastic, his scroll scholarship still carries some measure of respect among peers. In the preface to the second edition of his book The Dead Sea Scrolls, he stated his desire to build "a bridge...between the antagonistic faiths of this world."

He studied Semitic languages at Manchester University, and Hebrew dialects at Oxford University. Trained for the Methodist ministry, he eventually became devoted to debunking the story of Jesus.

See also

• Entheogen

External links

• Obituary: Skeptic Tank Text Archive File
• Minnesota State University biography of Allegro

British archaeologists | 1923 births | 1988 deaths

John Marco Allegro | John Marco Allegro