ThothWeb - Your Portal to the Unknown - Analyzing Dead Sea Scrolls evolves from carbon to DNA

From the very beginning, science and technology have played a critical role in the authentication, restoration and analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls. "There have been a number of remarkable technological achievements that have helped us better understand the scrolls," said Scott Noegel, a University of Washington expert on Near Eastern languages and literature.

"I think the coolest has been the use of DNA analysis," added R. Bryce Seidl, president and chief executive officer of the Pacific Science Center.

Because some of the scrolls were written on animal hide, Seidl explained, experts since the mid-1990s have been able to establish a specific "genetic fingerprint" that can identify the species and even an individual animal to further aid in matching scroll fragments.

A powerful tool known as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) analysis can now be used to reconstruct the genetic code from the typically degraded and fragmented DNA strands obtained from the skin.

Geology played a critical if indirect role in protecting the scrolls over the millennia. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the planet's surface. It's also one the saltiest places on Earth, which isn't so great for living things but helps keep other things in the area -- such as papyrus or skin documents -- from deteriorating.

The first tools of science and technology applied to the scrolls were used to identify and date the ancient documents. Archaeology, paleography (the study of ancient handwriting) and carbon-14 dating were the disciplines that first convinced scholars of the scrolls' authenticity.

Some of the Hebrew and Aramaic scrolls were actually dated, providing solid reference points. The discovery of the scrolls provided scholars with some of the best examples of handwriting styles and their evolution for this period.

Carbon-14 dating, which was developed around the same time the scrolls were discovered in the 1940s, can establish age by measuring how much of any organic material's carbon-14 atoms have deteriorated into carbon-12 atoms.

Since then, many more methods and techniques besides DNA analysis have been employed to help scholars put the puzzle pieces together and resolve questions.

Another technique that made a huge difference is imaging. At the outset, scholars worked with photographs rather than handle the fragile scrolls. But many photos of the fragments remained unreadable.

"It was just stupid," said Bruce Zuckerman, a scroll expert and director of the West Semitic Research Center at the University of Southern California. "People were debating the interpretation of a single letter in a murky photograph."

So Zuckerman and his brother, Kenneth, set out to improve the images. They used infrared lighting and backlighting, and eventually moved into digital photography and computer enhancement techniques.

"We were able to get information out of the scrolls that others couldn't," Zuckerman said. His imaging skills gave him the opportunity to be the first to read some of the scrolls. Did he ever, in his decades of study, run across a major finding?

"Well, I found the word 'behold' in Aramaic and that had never been seen before," he said. "It wasn't the Da Vinci Code and it didn't change anything really, but I loved it."

Copyright: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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