DON’T MISS
IamExpat FairIamExpat Job BoardIamExpat Webinars
Newsletters
EXPAT INFO
CAREER
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIFESTYLE
EXPAT SERVICES
NEWS & ARTICLES
Home
Expat Info
Dutch news & articles
Meeting the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy

Meeting the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy
or
follow us for regular updates:



Related Stories

Dutch scientists are developing revolutionary cancer treatment methodDutch scientists are developing revolutionary cancer treatment method
Marton-E bike: if you love to ride (but hate to pedal)Marton-E bike: if you love to ride (but hate to pedal)
Dutch artist helps NASA create vision for warp-drive spaceshipDutch artist helps NASA create vision for warp-drive spaceship
Jyrobike: the easy way to learn to rideJyrobike: the easy way to learn to ride
Dutch scientists achieve quantum teleportation of dataDutch scientists achieve quantum teleportation of data
Dutch scientists discover proof for what killed the dinosaursDutch scientists discover proof for what killed the dinosaurs
Me-Mover: step up for a new way to moveMe-Mover: step up for a new way to move
Lumen: the glow in the dark bicycleLumen: the glow in the dark bicycle
For expats of all colours, shapes and sizes

Explore
Expat infoCareerHousingEducationLifestyleExpat servicesNews & articles
About us
IamExpat MediaAdvertisePost a jobContact usSitemap
More IamExpat
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingIamExpat FairsWebinarsNewsletters
Privacy
Terms of usePrivacy policyCookiesAvoiding scams

Never miss a thing!Sign up for expat events, news & offers, delivered once a week.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy


© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Oct 18, 2013
Alexandra Gowling
Alexandra is an Australian citizen and an experienced expat, having spent (quite a bit of) time in Asia before coming to the Netherlands a year ago. She enjoys writing, reading and talking to people, occasionally in Dutch.Read more

In another example of what sounds like science fiction actually being science fact, researchers at the University of Groningen want to use artificial intelligence to "read" the handwriting on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Mladen Popovic, director of the university’s Qumran Institute, believes it is possible to differentiate between the individuals who wrote and copied the manuscripts 2.000 years ago. He calls it "literally shaking their hands."

Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most important archaeological finding in history. They were discovered mid-last century in caves near Qumran on the West Bank.

They comprise over a thousand manuscripts from the period around the beginning of the Christian era and provide a unique insight into the creation of what later became the Bible.

"We know the content of the rolls," said Popovic, "but we also want to know about the world behind the manuscripts. Who wrote the text or texts? And what was the writing culture like? Answers to these questions will bring us closer to the origins of our own culture."

Artificial Intelligence

To find answers to his questions, Popovic is working with Lambert Schomaker, the scientific director of the Artificial Intelligence Institute of the University of Groningen.

They have developed a system to access historical and handwritten archives, which they have called MONK.

All the fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been entered into MONK, which must now learn to recognise the different letters, words and handwriting.

"MONK sees more than you can with the naked eye. The system can also take into account muscle strength, pen control and the materials used. This means we can trace the unique characteristics of each individual writer," explained Popovic.

Crowdfunding

Popovic and Schomaker want to involve a much wider audience in their research, so they are appealing to the public to help support them through their crowdfunding project.

"There is a lot of interest in the Dead Sea Scrolls and their history. Using crowdfunding, we hope not only to get this project off the ground faster with the money we raise, but also that people will feel that they are participating in a concrete way."

Popovic hopes to raise 20.000 euros through the University of Groningen’s own crowdfunding site. "Every donation helps," he said. "Even a small amount will help us to continue to analyse as many documents as possible and to set up a solid database of letter and word styles."

Depending on the size of the donation, donors can also receive something in return, perhaps an image of a letter from the Dead Sea Scrolls analysed by MONK, an afternoon analysing texts themselves or a living room lecture by Popovic.

See for yourself

The Dead Sea Scrolls can be viewed in the Drents Museum until 5 January 2014.

Source: University of Gronignen

By Alexandra Gowling