Thanks to a new technology, it is possible to read the contents of an ancient biblical manuscript without damaging the document.
The scientists were able to read a passage from Leviticus, the third book of the old testament without opening the manuscript. The work was so weakened that it was impossible to open it without destroying it.
The manuscript with at least 1500 years old was discovered in an archaeological excavation, in a synagogue in Israel, in 1970.
"This piece of coal was a manuscript with a text. As he burned, has become unreadable.
We can unwind it in virtual form. We can access to the inside of the pages and separámo them on different layers and finding the layer with the best writing.", explained Pnina Shor, director of the department of conservation of the manuscripts of the Dead sea, in the Institute of Antiquities in Israel.
The new system is based on the use of X-ray and in 3D technology. This is a digital scanner of high resolution. The different layers of the work are separated and thanks to the technology of computer analysis of the text is reconstituted.
The scientists will now begin analyzing other ancient manuscripts severely damaged that contain texts written with ink.
"This technology will open new horizons in scientific research. From now already we will not need to uncoil and destroy the manuscripts. We will be able to see the interior of an object without having to manipulate, underlined the responsible.
The project was developed at the University of Kentucky, with the support of Google and the National Foundation for Science of the United States.
The technology will be made available in open source at the end of 2017.
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