Dead Sea Scrolls possibly even older than scholars thought
A specially designed artificial intelligence program named after a Judaic prophet suggests one of biblical archeology's greatest finds require reexamination. According to an international team of researchers in consultation with 'Enoch,' some of the Dead Sea Scrolls may be a bit older than we thought. Their evidence is laid out in a study published on June 4 in the journal PLOS One.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most remarkable and revolutionary archeological discoveries ever made. Researchers uncovered the first documents within the West Bank's Qumrum Caves in 1946, eventually amassing around 15,000 scrolls and parchment fragments over the next decade. Historians and religious studies experts have spent years examining the trove believed to date to the Second Temple era (516 BCE–70 CE), in the process learning invaluable details about ancient Jewish and early Christian life. The scrolls also include some of the oldest complete biblically canonical books known to exist, and helped confirm the era's rabbinic culture to maintain remarkably standardized written texts over a roughly 1,000-year period.
Although ancient manuscripts occasionally feature written dates, many others are missing them. This often makes it difficult to easily pinpoint their provenance, but experts have ways to narrow down the possibilities. In addition to radiocarbon dating, scholars frequently study the evolution of ancient handwriting—a field of study known as paleography. Understanding these stylistic shifts can help indicate when authors penned certain documents, and thus fill in historical gaps.
However, there's a catch to this approach. In order to get a sense of a written artifact's age from its script, paleographers require enough accurately dated manuscripts to serve as a reference. Add in the many nuances to historical documentation, and it can get very tricky, very quickly.
Knowing this, a group of experts from universities across the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Italy recently collaborated on a new machine learning program specifically designed to analyze and evaluate scanned images of biblical writings. Enoch, named after the Book of Genesis prophet who 'did not experience death,' is built on two primary datasets—an index of radiocarbon dated historic biblical texts, and an analysis of each manuscript's handwriting. By combining these two databases, Enoch could then analyze a sample text in order to more accurately date it.
Once Enoch was built, the team had it scan 135 non-dated Dead Sea Scrolls and offer an age estimate for each one. A group of paleography experts then compared those results to their own evaluations. They concluded Enoch offered 'realistic' dating estimates for nearly 80 percent of the scrolls, while the remaining conclusions were either too young, too old, or indecisive.
Interestingly, researchers noted that some of Enoch's 'realistic' estimates meant that certain Dead Sea Scroll samples were actually older than scholars previously theorized. These revisions were further reinforced by additional radiocarbon testing. In one example, Enoch and scholars agreed a scroll fragment likely dated to the first half of the second century BCE—roughly 100 to 150 years older than existing estimates. What's more, two scroll fragments were dated to the time of their assumed authors, implying they may be primary texts.
While more validation and testing is needed, the team believes Enoch may offer experts a new tool to help investigate, correlate, and date ancient texts.'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,' the study's authors said in a statement. 'With the Enoch tool we have opened a new door into the ancient world, like a time machine, that allows us to study the hands that wrote the Bible.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
An explosion of sea urchins threatens to push coral reefs in Hawaii ‘past the point of recovery'
The turquoise water of Hōnaunau Bay in Hawaii, an area popular with snorkelers and divers, is teeming with spiny creatures that threaten to push the coral reef 'past the point of recovery,' new research has found. Sea urchin numbers here are exploding as the fish species that typically keep their populations in check decline due to overfishing, according to the study, published last month in the journal PLOS ONE. It's yet another blow to a reef already suffering damage from pollution as well as climate change-driven ocean heat waves and sea level rise. Kelly J. van Woesik, a researcher at the North Carolina State University Center for Geospatial Analytics and a study author, first noticed unusually high numbers of sea urchins on snorkeling trips. 'I knew there was a story to be told,' she said. She and her fellow researchers used data from scuba surveys and images taken from the air to track the health of the reef. 'We found on average 51 urchins per square meter, which is among the highest recorded densities on coral reefs anywhere in the world,' van Woesik said. Sea urchins are small marine invertebrates, characterized by their spiny bodies and found in oceans around the world. They play a useful role in preventing algae overgrowth, which can choke off oxygen to coral. However, they also eat the reef and too many of them can cause damaging erosion. In Hōnaunau Bay, the coral is already struggling to reproduce and grow due to ocean heat and water pollution, leaving it even more vulnerable to the erosion inflicted by sea urchins. Its rate of growth has plummeted according to the study. Reef growth is typically measured by the amount of calcium carbonate — the substance which forms coral skeletons — it produces per square meter each year. The reef in Hōnaunau Bay is growing 30 times more slowly than it did four decades ago, according to the study. Production levels were around 15 kilograms (33 pounds) per square meter in parts of Hawaii, signaling a healthy reef, according to research in the 1980s. Today, the reef in Hōnaunau Bay produces just 0.5 kg (1.1 pounds) per square meter. To offset erosion from urchins, at least 26% of the reef surface must be covered by living corals – and even more coral cover is necessary for it to grow. Gregory Asner, an ecologist at Arizona State University and study author, said what was happening in this part of Hawaii was emblematic of the mounting pressures facing reefs throughout the region. 'For 27 years I have worked in Hōnaunau Bay and other bays like it across Hawaii, but Hōnaunau stood out early on as an iconic example of a reef threatened by a combination of pressures,' he said, citing warming ocean temperatures, pollution from tourism and heavy fishing. The implications of coral decline are far-reaching. Coral reefs are sometimes dubbed the 'rainforests of the sea' because they support so much ocean life. They also play a vital role protecting coastlines from storm surges and erosion. 'If the reef can't keep up with sea-level rise, it loses its ability to limit incoming wave energy,' said van Woesik. 'That increases erosion and flooding risk of coastal communities.' Kiho Kim, an environmental science professor at American University, who was not involved in the study, said the findings highlight the fragility of reef ecosystems under stress. 'Dramatic increases in any species indicate an unusual condition that has allowed them to proliferate,' Kim said. That imbalance can undermine diversity and reduce the reef's ability to provide essential ecosystem services including food security and carbon storage, he told CNN. Despite the challenges, researchers emphasize that the reef's future is not sealed. Local groups in Hōnaunau are working to reduce fishing pressure, improve water quality and support coral restoration. 'These reefs are essential to protecting the islands they surround,' van Woesik said. 'Without action taken now, we risk allowing these reefs to erode past the point of no return.'
CNN
18 hours ago
- CNN
An explosion of sea urchins threatens to push coral reefs in Hawaii ‘past the point of recovery'
The turquoise water of Hōnaunau Bay in Hawaii, an area popular with snorkelers and divers, is teeming with spiny creatures that threaten to push the coral reef 'past the point of recovery,' new research has found. Sea urchin numbers here are exploding as the fish species that typically keep their populations in check decline due to overfishing, according to the study, published last month in the journal PLOS ONE. It's yet another blow to a reef already suffering damage from pollution as well as climate change-driven ocean heat waves and sea level rise. Kelly J. van Woesik, a researcher at the North Carolina State University Center for Geospatial Analytics and a study author, first noticed unusually high numbers of sea urchins on snorkeling trips. 'I knew there was a story to be told,' she said. She and her fellow researchers used data from scuba surveys and images taken from the air to track the health of the reef. 'We found on average 51 urchins per square meter, which is among the highest recorded densities on coral reefs anywhere in the world,' van Woesik said. Sea urchins are small marine invertebrates, characterized by their spiny bodies and found in oceans around the world. They play a useful role in preventing algae overgrowth, which can choke off oxygen to coral. However, they also eat the reef and too many of them can cause damaging erosion. In Hōnaunau Bay, the coral is already struggling to reproduce and grow due to ocean heat and water pollution, leaving it even more vulnerable to the erosion inflicted by sea urchins. Its rate of growth has plummeted according to the study. Reef growth is typically measured by the amount of calcium carbonate — the substance which forms coral skeletons — it produces per square meter each year. The reef in Hōnaunau Bay is growing 30 times more slowly than it did four decades ago, according to the study. Production levels were around 15 kilograms (33 pounds) per square meter in parts of Hawaii, signaling a healthy reef, according to research in the 1980s. Today, the reef in Hōnaunau Bay produces just 0.5 kg (1.1 pounds) per square meter. To offset erosion from urchins, at least 26% of the reef surface must be covered by living corals – and even more coral cover is necessary for it to grow. Gregory Asner, an ecologist at Arizona State University and study author, said what was happening in this part of Hawaii was emblematic of the mounting pressures facing reefs throughout the region. 'For 27 years I have worked in Hōnaunau Bay and other bays like it across Hawaii, but Hōnaunau stood out early on as an iconic example of a reef threatened by a combination of pressures,' he said, citing warming ocean temperatures, pollution from tourism and heavy fishing. The implications of coral decline are far-reaching. Coral reefs are sometimes dubbed the 'rainforests of the sea' because they support so much ocean life. They also play a vital role protecting coastlines from storm surges and erosion. 'If the reef can't keep up with sea-level rise, it loses its ability to limit incoming wave energy,' said van Woesik. 'That increases erosion and flooding risk of coastal communities.' Kiho Kim, an environmental science professor at American University, who was not involved in the study, said the findings highlight the fragility of reef ecosystems under stress. 'Dramatic increases in any species indicate an unusual condition that has allowed them to proliferate,' Kim said. That imbalance can undermine diversity and reduce the reef's ability to provide essential ecosystem services including food security and carbon storage, he told CNN. Despite the challenges, researchers emphasize that the reef's future is not sealed. Local groups in Hōnaunau are working to reduce fishing pressure, improve water quality and support coral restoration. 'These reefs are essential to protecting the islands they surround,' van Woesik said. 'Without action taken now, we risk allowing these reefs to erode past the point of no return.'
CNN
18 hours ago
- CNN
An explosion of sea urchins threatens to push coral reefs in Hawaii ‘past the point of recovery'
Animal stories Climate changeFacebookTweetLink Follow The turquoise water of Hōnaunau Bay in Hawaii, an area popular with snorkelers and divers, is teeming with spiny creatures that threaten to push the coral reef 'past the point of recovery,' new research has found. Sea urchin numbers here are exploding as the fish species that typically keep their populations in check decline due to overfishing, according to the study, published last month in the journal PLOS ONE. It's yet another blow to a reef already suffering damage from pollution as well as climate change-driven ocean heat waves and sea level rise. Kelly J. van Woesik, a researcher at the North Carolina State University Center for Geospatial Analytics and a study author, first noticed unusually high numbers of sea urchins on snorkeling trips. 'I knew there was a story to be told,' she said. She and her fellow researchers used data from scuba surveys and images taken from the air to track the health of the reef. 'We found on average 51 urchins per square meter, which is among the highest recorded densities on coral reefs anywhere in the world,' van Woesik said. Sea urchins are small marine invertebrates, characterized by their spiny bodies and found in oceans around the world. They play a useful role in preventing algae overgrowth, which can choke off oxygen to coral. However, they also eat the reef and too many of them can cause damaging erosion. In Hōnaunau Bay, the coral is already struggling to reproduce and grow due to ocean heat and water pollution, leaving it even more vulnerable to the erosion inflicted by sea urchins. Its rate of growth has plummeted according to the study. Reef growth is typically measured by the amount of calcium carbonate — the substance which forms coral skeletons — it produces per square meter each year. The reef in Hōnaunau Bay is growing 30 times more slowly than it did four decades ago, according to the study. Production levels were around 15 kilograms (33 pounds) per square meter in parts of Hawaii, signaling a healthy reef, according to research in the 1980s. Today, the reef in Hōnaunau Bay produces just 0.5 kg (1.1 pounds) per square meter. To offset erosion from urchins, at least 26% of the reef surface must be covered by living corals – and even more coral cover is necessary for it to grow. Gregory Asner, an ecologist at Arizona State University and study author, said what was happening in this part of Hawaii was emblematic of the mounting pressures facing reefs throughout the region. 'For 27 years I have worked in Hōnaunau Bay and other bays like it across Hawaii, but Hōnaunau stood out early on as an iconic example of a reef threatened by a combination of pressures,' he said, citing warming ocean temperatures, pollution from tourism and heavy fishing. The implications of coral decline are far-reaching. Coral reefs are sometimes dubbed the 'rainforests of the sea' because they support so much ocean life. They also play a vital role protecting coastlines from storm surges and erosion. 'If the reef can't keep up with sea-level rise, it loses its ability to limit incoming wave energy,' said van Woesik. 'That increases erosion and flooding risk of coastal communities.' Kiho Kim, an environmental science professor at American University, who was not involved in the study, said the findings highlight the fragility of reef ecosystems under stress. 'Dramatic increases in any species indicate an unusual condition that has allowed them to proliferate,' Kim said. That imbalance can undermine diversity and reduce the reef's ability to provide essential ecosystem services including food security and carbon storage, he told CNN. Despite the challenges, researchers emphasize that the reef's future is not sealed. Local groups in Hōnaunau are working to reduce fishing pressure, improve water quality and support coral restoration. 'These reefs are essential to protecting the islands they surround,' van Woesik said. 'Without action taken now, we risk allowing these reefs to erode past the point of no return.'
