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Animal DNA is helping unlock some Dead Sea Scrolls secrets - CNN
The Dead Sea Scrolls are like an ancient puzzle that researchers and scholars are trying to piece together, but multiple obstacles block the way. Now, a new study has suggested a potential aid in finding the way these puzzle pieces fit together: animal DNA from the skins used to make the scrolls.
The 2,000-year-old scrolls are actually represented by more than 25,000 fragments that make up about a thousand ancient manuscripts. These ancient texts include the oldest copies of the Hebrew Bible's books. The discovery of the scrolls "had an incomparable impact on the historical understanding of Judaism and Christianity," according to the study.
They were found at different sites in the Judean Desert in Israel and the West Bank leading toward the Dead Sea, largely between 1947 and the 1960s. A large number of them were found in 11 different caves near the Qumran archaeological site, which is along the Dead Sea's northwest shore. More were found in the ancient fortification of Masada, as well as other sites.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are like an ancient puzzle that researchers and scholars are trying to piece together, but multiple obstacles block the way. Now, a new study has suggested a potential aid in finding the way these puzzle pieces fit together: animal DNA from the skins used to make the scrolls.
The 2,000-year-old scrolls are actually represented by more than 25,000 fragments that make up about a thousand ancient manuscripts. These ancient texts include the oldest copies of the Hebrew Bible's books. The discovery of the scrolls "had an incomparable impact on the historical understanding of Judaism and Christianity," according to the study.
They were found at different sites in the Judean Desert in Israel and the West Bank leading toward the Dead Sea, largely between 1947 and the 1960s. A large number of them were found in 11 different caves near the Qumran archaeological site, which is along the Dead Sea's northwest shore. More were found in the ancient fortification of Masada, as well as other sites.