FFOZ Blogs : Dead Sea Scrolls Online

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Dead Sea Scrolls Online

By Brian Reed | Comments (1)
August 27, 2008

According to a report from the New York Times, Israel plans to make the Dead Sea Scrolls available online in the near future. Using high-powered cameras that do not emit heat or ultra-violet rays, Simon Tanner who is the head of this massive project notes that these cameras will produce images will a far greater clarity than conventional models. This effort is also "uncovering previously illegible sections and letters of the scrolls, and these discoveries might have significant scholarly impact."

This effort will ensure the longstanding availability and preservation of the images of the scrolls. According to Pnina Shor, head of the conservation department of the Israel Antiquities Authority, as reported by the Jerusalem Post, "each time a scroll is exposed to light, humidity and heat, it deteriorates. She says even without such exposure there is deterioration because of the ink used on some of the scrolls as well as the residue from the Scotch tape used by the 1950s scholars in piecing together fragments."

The photographing of the scrolls began as a project to "monitor the deterioration of the scrolls" according to Shor. In the process of photographing them, the decision was made to make these images available online to the public, thus granting greater access to the scrolls. The projected timeline for the scrolls to be made available online is approx. 1-2 years.

*The content for this blog was taken from the Jerusalem Post article found here.

About the Author: Brian Reed is a staff writer and researcher specializing in Messianic apologetics.