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Dead Sea Scrolls Older Than Previously Thought, AI Study Suggests
A groundbreaking new study suggests some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, among the world’s most significant archaeological discoveries, could be up to a century older than previously believed.
The study, published in PLOS One, combined radiocarbon dating with artificial intelligence to analyze the ancient manuscripts. Lead author Mladen Popović, dean of the Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society at the University of Groningen, explained that some scrolls date back approximately 2,300 years, coinciding with the estimated lifetimes of their authors.
Discovered by Bedouin shepherds in 1947 near the Dead Sea, the scrolls comprise thousands of fragments from hundreds of manuscripts, housed within 11 caves near Khirbat Qumran in the West Bank. Popović emphasized the scrolls’ importance, stating, “They completely changed our understanding of ancient Judaism and early Christianity. Over 200 of the roughly 1,000 manuscripts are biblical Old Testament texts, representing the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible.”
The scrolls offer invaluable insights into the thoughts, writings, and readings of people living centuries ago. Popović described them as a “time machine,” providing tangible evidence of a pivotal historical period.
Dating the scrolls has always been a challenge, as most lack explicit dates. Scholars traditionally relied on paleography, the study of ancient writing, to estimate the scrolls’ age, placing them between the third century BC and the second century AD.
However, the new research suggests some manuscripts date back to the late fourth century BC. This revelation offers exciting new possibilities for understanding the texts’ creation, distribution, and readership.
The study’s innovative approach involved refining radiocarbon dating techniques and addressing the contamination issue from castor oil applied in the 1950s. The team then developed an AI, named Enoch, trained on high-resolution images of the newly dated scrolls.
Enoch demonstrated remarkable accuracy, correctly estimating the age of manuscripts 85% of the time. When presented with undated scrolls, Enoch provided realistic age estimates for 79% of the samples.
These findings have significant implications for historical reconstructions and future manuscript analysis. Popović suggested AI could eventually replace carbon dating, a destructive process, offering a non-invasive alternative. The team hopes to further develop Enoch to analyze other scripts, including Syriac, Arabic, Greek, and Latin.
External scholars expressed enthusiasm for the study’s findings. While some cautioned about the small sample sizes and the need for further development, they acknowledged the research as a significant step forward in the field of Dead Sea Scroll studies. The combination of AI and refined carbon dating techniques promises a more precise and comprehensive understanding of these invaluable historical documents.