A groundbreaking study from the University of Groningen has combined artificial intelligence with advanced radiocarbon dating techniques to reexamine the age of the Dead Sea Scrolls, revealing that some of these ancient manuscripts may be up to 150 years older than previously thought. The findings, published in PLOS ONE, offer new insights into the historical context and authorship of some of the oldest known biblical texts.
Led by Professor Mladen Popović, the research team reanalyzed 30 fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered in the Qumran Caves near the Dead Sea between 1946 and 1947. These texts, primarily written in Hebrew and dating back to between the 3rd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, include biblical scriptures, legal codes, and calendrical writings. For decades, scholars have estimated their age based on paleography—the study of ancient handwriting—but the results were often imprecise.
Radiocarbon dating offered greater accuracy but was previously compromised by mid-20th-century preservation methods that involved coating the scrolls with castor oil. In this new study, researchers carefully cleaned the fragments to remove contaminants, obtaining reliable radiocarbon dates from 27 of them.
A key innovation in the study is the introduction of an AI model named Enoch, designed to detect subtle variations in handwriting. Trained on 62 high-resolution images from 24 different scrolls, Enoch was able to analyze and estimate the age of 135 previously undated fragments. Impressively, its assessments aligned with expert paleographic analysis in 79% of cases.
One notable example is fragment 4Q114, which contains portions of the Book of Daniel. Previous research placed its origin in the late 2nd century BCE, but Enoch’s analysis suggests it could date between 230 BCE and 160 BCE—potentially aligning more closely with the era of its purported author.
The study also found that Hasmonean and Herodian script styles overlapped for a longer period than previously believed. This revelation could prompt a reassessment of certain phases in Jewish historical chronology.
“This technology is like a time machine to the ancient world,” said Prof. Popović. “It brings us closer than ever to the individuals who wrote the earliest biblical texts.”
The team believes Enoch could be applied to a wide range of ancient manuscripts beyond the Dead Sea Scrolls, offering a non-invasive and highly accurate method for dating historical texts—without the need for physical sampling.
This fusion of AI and archaeology marks a significant advancement in the study of ancient literature and promises to reshape how scholars explore humanity’s written past.
Popović M, Dhali MA, Schomaker L, van der Plicht J, Lund Rasmussen K, La Nasa J, et al. (2025) Dating ancient manuscripts using radiocarbon and AI-based writing style analysis. PLoS One 20(6): e0323185. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0323185
Cover Image Credit: Dead Sea Scroll 28a from Qumran Cave 1, complete, the Jordan Museum in Amman. Public domain
