Was it individual scribes or did some of the Dead Sea Scrolls also come from the hands of several copyists? By analyzing scripts using artificial intelligence, researchers have now been able to confirm the case of the Great Isaiah Scroll: It was made by two scribes who, however, had a very similar style in their handwriting.
They are among the most prominent finds of all time: around 70 years ago, clay jugs containing the remains of scrolls with Old Testament and cultic liturgical texts were discovered in rock caves near Qumran on the Dead Sea. They are in the time of the 3rd century BC. BC to the 1st century AD and thus give an insight into the basics of Judeo-Christian culture. It is not possible to clarify who has labeled the rolls, because they are not signed. The uniform appearance of the writing style suggests that only one writer wrote a role at a time. But it is possible that the ancient copyists only tried to make the manuscripts look standardized. On the basis of abnormalities in the script, it was already suspected in some cases that several people had been at work. But so far these have been controversial assessments because they are based on subjective impressions.
The great Isaiah scroll in an analytical view
That is why the scientists working with Mladen Popović from the University of Groningen have now used artificial intelligence processes to analyze the manuscripts. Their study focused on examining the Great Isaiah Scroll from Qumran Cave 1. The 7.34 meter long parchment scroll was probably made in the 2nd century BC. And includes the text of the book of Isaiah in Hebrew. Although the writing on this scroll also appears uniform at first glance, it has already been assumed, based on obvious indications, that it could have been made by two scribes.
In order to be able to analyze the writing in detail, the researchers first used an adaptive artificial neural network to clearly separate the traces of the ink from the background of the structures of the scroll material. Subsequently, it was then possible to use further artificial intelligence processes to capture fine distinctions and characteristics in the handwritten characters. The main focus was on one Hebrew character: “The scroll contains the letter aleph at least 5000 times. It is impossible to compare them all with the naked eye. Computers, on the other hand, are well suited to analyzing such large amounts of data, ”says co-author Lambert Schomaker. “Digital image processing enables all kinds of computer calculations on the micro level of characters, such as the measurement of curvatures,” explains the scientist.
Two scribes stand out
As he and his colleagues report, their analyzes showed that the 54 columns of text in the Great Isaiah scroll can be assigned to two scribes. “Among other things, we were able to show that the second scribe has a little more variation in his handwriting than the first, although their handwriting appears to be very similar overall,” says Schomaker. The scientists were also able to document that the first scribe wrote up to column 27 and then the second completed the rest of the role, confirming a previously controversial assumption. “We have now been able to support this assessment with our quantitative analysis of the handwriting as well as with robust statistical analyzes,” says Popović.
According to the researchers, their method can now also be used in further investigations to uncover how the ancient manuscripts were once worked on. “It will provide insight into the connections between the scribes who produced the scrolls,” says Popović. “This study showed a very similar style of writing between the two scribes of the Great Isaiah Scroll, which suggests a common education or origin. Now we want to examine other scrolls as well, in which we may be able to discover indications of different origins or training courses of the scribes, ”says Popović.
Source: University of Groningen, specialist article: Plos ONE, doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0249769