Dead Sea scrolls to be available online

September 4, 2008 - 12:33 PM by

Dead Sea scrollsThe Shrine of the Book, the home of the Dead Sea scrolls, has long been one of the most popular destinations for visitors to Israel. The Dead Sea scrolls are Israel’s greatest archeological find and are sought out by scholars throughout the world for detailed study. Permission to access to them for study from scholars has long been contentious since every time the scrolls are exposed to light, they deteriorate slightly. Access has obviously been incredibly limited. Though things will change. In a couple of years.

NYTimes:

The keepers of the scrolls, people like Pnina Shor, head of the conservation department of the antiquities authority, are delighted by the intense interest but say that 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.

It’s hard to believe and absolutely shocking that the scrolls were once held together by scotch tape.

CNN reports:

Over the next two years, the Israel Antiquities Authority will digitally photograph and scan every bit of crumbling parchment and papyrus that makes up the scrolls, which include the oldest written record of the Bible’s Old Testament.

The images eventually will be posted on the Internet for anyone to see.

“These are the earliest copies of the Bible ever found,” said Pnina Shor, head of treatment and conservation at the Antiquities Authority.

“The Bible is sacred to us and to you and to all the monotheistic religions, and therefore [the scrolls] are national treasures and world treasures, and therefore it is our duty to preserve them at least for 2,000 years more.”

A bit mindbloggling why this project will take two years to accomplish but it will be certainly advantageous to the everyman and scholars (as well as burgeoning scholars) to have full access to these important works.

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