AI Reveals Dead Sea Scrolls May Be Older Than Previously Thought

Learn more about Enoch, the machine learning model predicting the ages of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient texts.

By Monica Cull
Jun 4, 2025 9:00 PMJun 4, 2025 8:55 PM
Dead Sea Scroll
Dead Sea Scroll. (Image Credit: Gregor Buir/Shutterstock)

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Before now, one of the few ways to date the Dead Sea Scrolls was through palaeography (the study of handwriting) and radiocarbon dating. These methods place the age of the scrolls somewhere between the 3rd century B.C.E. and the 2nd century C.E. 

But a new AI date-prediction model may provide a more accurate date for the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. After using this new model, called Enoch, researchers have determined that the Dead Sea Scrolls may actually be older than previously thought. The findings, published in PLOS One, also indicate that two biblical scroll fragments date back to the same time as their presumed authors. 

AI and the Dead Sea Scrolls 

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