AI Traces Dead Sea Scrolls: New Research Project

A new international research project is using artificial intelligence to trace the Dead Sea Scrolls. Professor Mladen Popović of the University of Groningen received a 2.5 million Euro grant for the five-year project, called Tracing Scribes and Scrolls. The project will analyze about 250 samples of parchment, papyrus, and ink from the Dead Sea Scrolls. It combines chemical analysis, handwriting studies, and AI methods. This builds on previous work that used AI to identify individual scribes. The team will compare materials from Egypt with those from the Judean Desert. They are looking for shared chemical signatures and production methods. This project involves the Israel Antiquities Authority and several European research institutions. This effort shows how AI can help us understand ancient cultural heritage.