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Radiocarbon Dating of Fourteen Dead Sea Scrolls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Georges Bonani ,
Susan Ivy ,
Willy Wölfli ,
Magen Broshi ,
Israel Carmi  and
John Strugnell
Georges Bonani
Affiliation:
Institut für Mittelenergiephysik, ETH-Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
Susan Ivy
Affiliation:
Institut für Mittelenergiephysik, ETH-Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
Willy Wölfli
Affiliation:
Institut für Mittelenergiephysik, ETH-Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
Magen Broshi
Affiliation:
Israel Museum, 9710 Jerusalem, Israel
Israel Carmi
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Sciences and Energy Research, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
John Strugnell
Affiliation:
Divinity School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 USA
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Abstract

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The name Dead Sea Scrolls refers to some 1200 manuscripts found in caves in the hills on the western shore of the Dead Sea during the last 45 years. They range in size from small fragments to complete books from the holy scriptures (the Old Testament). The manuscripts also include uncanonized sectarian books, letters and commercial documents, written on papyrus and parchment. In only a few cases, direct information on the date of writing was found in the scrolls. In all other cases, the dating is based on indirect archaeological and paleographical evidence. To check this evidence, radiocarbon ages of 14 selected scrolls were determined using accelerator mass spectrometry. The calibrated radiocarbon ages agree well, except in one case, with the paleographic estimates or the specific dates noted on the scrolls.

Information

Type
V. Archaeological Applications
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 34 , Issue 3: Proceedings of the 14th International Radiocarbon Conference , 1992 , pp. 843 - 849
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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