Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of millennial texts including the oldest biblical text in Hebrew, do not come from the desert where they were found, concludes a study made public on Tuesday on the DNA of fragments of these scrolls.
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The 900 manuscripts found between 1947 and 1956 in the caves of Qumran, at the foot of the Dead Sea, in the West Bank, are considered to be one of the most important archaeological discoveries of all time because they include religious texts in Hebrew, Aramaic and in Greek, as well as the oldest known version of the Old Testament. The oldest documents date back to the 3rd century BC and the most recent was written in the year 70, when the second Jewish Temple was destroyed by the Roman legions.
Many experts believe that the Dead Sea Scrolls were written by the Essenes, a dissident Jewish sect who had retreated to the caves at Qumran in the Judean Desert. Others believe, however, that a part was hidden by Jews who wanted to protect them from the Romans. To try to get a clearer picture and throw scientific light on a theological debate, Israeli researchers studied the DNA of fragments from these manuscripts. "We discovered by analyzing fragments of parchments that certain texts were written on the skins of cows and sheep when before we estimated that all were written on the skins of goats" , explains to AFP Pnina Shor, researcher to the Israel Antiquities Authority, which is leading the project to study these manuscripts.
"We discovered by analyzing fragments of parchments that certain texts were written on the skins of cows and sheep when before we estimated that all were written on the skins of goats"
Pnina Shor, researcher at the Israel Antiquities Authority."This proves that these manuscripts do not come from the desert where they were found," says the scientist. "But where exactly do they come from and by whom were they written?" These questions remain unanswered, but the DNA study, carried out for seven years on 13 texts by a team also from Tel Aviv University, opens the way to new discoveries, ” said Shor. "We will finally be able to find the answer to the essential question of the identity of the authors of these manuscripts and these first results will have an impact on the study of the life of the Jews at the time of the Second Temple" , adds she.
The reconstruction puzzle
This archaeological research remains a sensitive subject in Israel and the Palestinian Territories where the results of works are sometimes used by associations or political parties to base their claims on places of memory claimed by both the Palestinians and the Israelis, at the same time. like the Temple Mount, the most sacred place in Judaism, and named Esplanade des Mosques by Muslims. Among the discoveries of Ms. Shor's team are excerpts from the biblical book of Jeremiah (prophet who lived in the sixth century BC), several fragments of which had long been considered by researchers to be from the same manuscript.
900 manuscripts were found between 1947 and 1956 in the caves of Qumran, at the foot of the Dead Sea. MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP.
"We see differences both in the content and in the style of calligraphy but also in the animal skin used for the parchment, which proves that they come from different origins , " said Beatriz Riestra, who participated in this study. In total, around 25,000 fragments of scrolls have been discovered over the years in the Judean Desert and research on these texts has been incessant for 60 years. Gold "by characterizing the genetic relationships between different fragments of the scrolls, the researchers were able to discern important historical relations" , says Prof. Oded Rechavi of the University of Tel Aviv.
We see differences both in the content and in the style of calligraphy but also in the animal skin used for the parchment, which proves that they come from different sources.
Beatriz Riestra, researcher.“It's like putting together a puzzle. There are many fragments of parchment that we don't know how to link and if we put bad pieces together, that can change the interpretation considerably , ”he says. And for now the puzzle is still a puzzle. "The research is only in its infancy but it is already showing convincing results , " says Shor, who recalls that her role is also to preserve the manuscripts and that this study cannot be done on all of the existing fragments. , for fear of damaging them.