An AI program trained to study the handwriting styles of ancient manuscripts suggests many of the Dead Sea Scrolls might be older than previously thought, as reported in a study published in the journal Plos One on Wednesday.

The study is the latest entry in a new era of antiquity studies that has researchers use AI to reveal the secrets written on frayed and crumbling scrolls.

The new method combines AI, radiocarbon dating, and handwriting analysis to more accurately estimate an ancient text's age.

The now proposed redating could reshape our understanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and of Judaism and early Christianity, the authors of the study say.

"It is very exciting to set a significant step into solving the dating problem of the Dead Sea Scrolls and also creating a new tool that could be used to study other partially dated manuscript collections from history," said study author Mladen........

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