Photo of the Day: Virtual Unraveling of History

At first glance, this photo may not look like anything valuable or even something you would care to have around. But this woman is holding an invaluable piece of history in the little box.

piece of burnt parchment that was read by midro CT scan and virtually unrolled

In 1970, archaeologists found charred remains in a burnt out Holy Ark of a 7th century synagogue in Ein Gedi, by the Dead Sea.

However, it took until now for modern technology to reveal its contents.

Carbon dating had shown the burnt object to be from the 6th century. But reading its contents by regular CT scanning did not work. It took micro-CT scanners of Merkel Technology to make 3D diagrams that were usable. The data was given to a Computer Science professor at the University of Kentucky in the United States, who developed a new scanner. With a team of students, the text was “virtually unrolled” and its contents revealed. The newly gleaned information matched the first eight sentences of the Book of Leviticus.

The results of the new technology has all at Israel Antiquities Authority excited, as this is considered the biggest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Part of a 6th century scroll of the Five Books of Moses, found in a burnt out 7th century synagogue, confirming a Jewish presence in the land after the destruction of the Second Temple, the week before Tisha B’Av, is that a random coincidence?

5 thoughts on “Photo of the Day: Virtual Unraveling of History”

  1. actually, what’s coincidental about it being Tisha B’Av this week is the Iran deal. these modern Amaleks would like nothing better than to destroy us. (I bet the almost-Jewish Obama has never even heard of Tisha B’Av.)

    1. The timing of Iran concessions during the Nine Days leading up to Tisha B”Av certainly fits this time of mourning and reflection.

  2. More and more documentation and artifacts being uncovered that re-affirms the indigenous status of Jews in Israel. Fascinating and wonderful article!

    1. Yes. Thank you. While at the same time more and more destruction of Jewish presence is occurring daily. At least three more posts on rewriting history are planned.

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