Ancient manuscripts of mysterious origin
(ORDO NEWS) — Archaeologists have analyzed the DNA of genuine Dead Sea scrolls and among them have found those of unknown origin. This was reported by Science Alert.
About 900 Dead Sea manuscripts were found in caves near the ancient settlement of Qumran in 1947. They contain texts, including biblical, written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.
However, DNA results showed that some scrolls were originally made not in the desert area near Qumran, but in another place. A number of texts were written on the skin of cows and sheep, although previously it was believed that goat skin was used for all manuscripts.
So far, it remains a mystery to researchers exactly where the manuscripts were created.
Many experts believe that the manuscripts were written by the Essenes, a Jewish sect whose members went into the desert around Qumran and its caves and founded isolated settlements there.
Others claim that some texts were hidden by Jews fleeing the advance of the Romans.
A thorough study of 16 fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection at the Bible Museum in Washington previously showed that none of the samples analyzed were genuine. The real scrolls are only those manuscripts that were discovered by researchers directly during the excavations.
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