AI Study Claims New Aging for Dead Sea Scrolls
An AI program has sparked new excitement in antiquity studies by suggesting that many of the Dead Sea Scrolls are older than previously estimated. This revelation could reshape our understanding of early Judaism and Christianity.
The study, published today in Plos One, combines AI with radiocarbon dating and handwriting analysis for more accurate dating of these ancient texts. 
Mladen Popović from the University of Groningen said,
"It is very exciting to set a significant step into solving the dating problem of the Dead Sea Scrolls and also creating a new tool that could be used to study other partially dated manuscript collections from history."
Researchers used AI to analyze 135 scrolls, comparing their handwriting styles against a dataset of 24 reliably dated manuscripts. The result? An impressive 79% accuracy in dating, improving on traditional paleography methods that have been hampered by subjectivity.
The initial findings suggest some scrolls date back to the early second century BCE or even earlier. Scholars believed that literacy and scribal culture surged in Judea post-mid-second century BCE. This new evidence challenges that notion, implying scribes may have been active well before this period.
Partners in the field, Thea Sommerschield and Yannis Assael, noted,
"This new study shows that computational tools don’t diminish the role of human expertise, they enhance it, opening new paths for discovery in even the most well-studied texts."
The AI abilities could soon revolutionize dating methods for other ancient manuscripts. Researchers are monitoring reactions closely as this new era in antiquity studies unfolds.
