One of the oldest biblical texts has been read

When in 1970, StóThe researchers at Ein-Gedi were unanimous in claiming that they could not be read. This is because the monument was almost completely burned down. Zwój found in very poor condition. It was a charred lump of animal parchment. Development of the scroll róThe Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Łeba.

Over 40 years, however, technology has advanced to such an extent that researchers have been able to read a charred text from the Bibleój without developing it. Researchers from the University of Kentucky have provided Israeli scholars with the contents of the scroll in a readable form. The first bits of analysis published in Advance Science reveal that the nearly 1,500-year-old zwój contains fragments of the Book of Leviticus written in Hebrew.

How were the scrolls read?ój from Ein-Gedi? At first, the charred find was simply scanned. They then used special software thatóre designed to first detect the individualólne sites based on their expected geometry. In the next step, researchers analyzed the structure of the scan and looked for changes in the brightness of individualóThe exhibits will be brought to this site. The areas covered with ink were brighter. Thus, the program showed the words written on the scroll.

– Imaging in itself is never a complete solution. The layers of the written scroll were rolled up, stuck together and heavily damaged. We had to read the whole structure of the scan – said William Brent Seales, who led the efforts of researchers from the University of Kentucky.

Despite using advanced technology not all words of the document were read. Corner fragments were consumed by fire. Like the outer layers of the scroll. However, already the first few fragments of theóin whichóre could be read was identified as the Book of Leviticus.

The researchers are fascinated by the technology, whichóIt helped to decipher the charred remains of theój. Thanks to it, it will be possible to learn the contents of many other finds, whichóThe next step for the researchers was to analyse the structure of the.