Deciphering the last texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls after 70 years
After more than 70 years of mystery, a researcher announced his success in deciphering the last unreadable texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries in modern history.
Deciphering the last texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls after 70 years
The greatest challenge lay in two ciphertexts known as "Obscure Script B," which remained undecipherable for decades due to their deteriorating condition and use of unfamiliar script symbols. But researcher Emmanuel Olivero of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands has finally cracked this historical mystery.
A surprise from the past: Artificial intelligence re-examines the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Olivero discovered that these mysterious symbols were simply Hebrew letters written in a distorted and altered way. When he replaced each symbol with its corresponding Hebrew letter, the hidden text began to emerge. Surprisingly, the content contained no secrets or strange teachings, but rather familiar religious texts dealing with the "end times" according to ancient Jewish beliefs.
Among the concepts that appeared in the texts were the idea of divine judgment, the expectation of the coming of the Messiah, and the ultimate destiny of the Jewish people. A sequence of five letters that could represent the word "Yisrael" (Israel in Hebrew) was also noted, along with familiar names such as "Judah" and "Jacob," as well as the word "Elohim," which means God in Hebrew.
These manuscripts belong to the Qumran community, an isolated Jewish sect that lived in the area near the Dead Sea, in the West Bank, more than two thousand years ago. This community was renowned for its meticulous preservation of religious texts and its isolation from mainstream society, making its writings a unique window into the religious and intellectual life of that early period.
Archaeological discovery in Iraq documents a unique religious coexistence 15 centuries ago
Despite their historical importance, these manuscripts were in a state of severe disrepair. The remaining fragments were small and fragile, some measuring only a few millimeters. The parchment was cracked and worn, and the black ink letters appeared irregular, with clear corrections and alterations, indicating that the writing process was neither precise nor entirely accurate.
The first text, designated 4Q362, contains religious themes similar to those found in the Prophets of the Bible, focusing on the idea of renewal and covenant fulfillment. The second text, 4Q363, is more damaged and difficult to decipher, as it contains repetitive phrases and names common during that historical period.
