Jerusalem (AFP)

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.

The 900 manuscripts found between 1947 and 1956 in the caves of Qumran, at the foot of the Dead Sea, in the current occupied West Bank, are considered to be one of the most important archaeological discoveries of all time because they include religious texts in Hebrew, in Aramaic and 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, at the time of the destruction of the second Jewish Temple 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.

In an attempt to see more clearly and throw scientific light on a theological debate, Israeli researchers studied the DNA of fragments of manuscripts written on animal skins.

"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.

"This proves that these manuscripts do not come from the desert where they were found," said the Israeli researcher. 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.

- Biblical 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 Palestinians and Israelis, like from 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 6th century BC), several fragments of which had long been considered by researchers to be from the same manuscript.

"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, one of the researchers 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.

"By characterizing the genetic relationships between different fragments of the scrolls, researchers have been able to discern important historical relationships," said Professor Oded Rechavi of Tel Aviv University.

"It's like putting together a puzzle. There are many fragments of scrolls that we don't know how to link and if we put bad pieces together, that can change the interpretation considerably," he said.

And for now the puzzle is more of a puzzle. "The research is only at its beginnings but it is already showing convincing results", affirms Ms. 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.

© 2020 AFP