The Dead Sea Scrolls are older than we thought

AI SCIENCE

The Dead Sea Scrolls are older than we thought

A new study used AI and radiocarbon dating to re-date the Dead Sea Scrolls, and turns out, some of them could be way older than we thought.

These scrolls, first discovered by shepherds in 1947, are the oldest biblical texts we’ve ever found.

Until now, most were dated between the third century BC and the second century AD based on handwriting. But a lot of that was guesswork.

Researchers trained an AI model to study the ink’s handwriting, looking closely at the curves and shapes of each character.

When tested on scrolls with known dates, it could guess the age within about 30 years.

In brief:

• AI can now estimate scroll age just from the handwriting

• Some fragments are older than the mid-first century BC

• The scrolls may change how we understand early Jewish and Christian texts

Ink doesn’t lie

After analysing 135 scrolls, the AI revealed that many written in Hasmonaean and Herodian scripts are likely older than previously thought, possibly dating back to the late second century BC.

We still don’t know who wrote them. But what’s clear now is that some scrolls may have been written much closer to the actual events they describe.

Turns out your handwriting can betray you… 2,000 years later.