JERUSALEM (AFP) – The Dead Sea scrolls, containing some of the oldest-known surviving biblical texts, are to go online as part of a collaboration between Israeli antiquities authorities and Google, developers said on Tuesday.
The 3.5 million dollar (2.5 million euro) project by the Israeli Antiquities Authority and the internet giant's local R&D division aims to use space-age technology to produce the clearest renderings yet of the ancient scrolls and make them available free of charge to the public.
"This is the most important discovery of the 20th century, and we will be sharing it with the most advanced technology of the next century," IAA project director Pnina Shor told reporters in Jerusalem.
The IAA will begin by using multi-spectral imaging technology developed by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration to produce high-resolution images of the sometimes-faded texts that may reveal new letters and words.
They will then partner with Google to place the images online in a searchable database complemented by translation and other scholarly tools.
more Israel to put Dead Sea scrolls online - Yahoo! News
The 3.5 million dollar (2.5 million euro) project by the Israeli Antiquities Authority and the internet giant's local R&D division aims to use space-age technology to produce the clearest renderings yet of the ancient scrolls and make them available free of charge to the public.
"This is the most important discovery of the 20th century, and we will be sharing it with the most advanced technology of the next century," IAA project director Pnina Shor told reporters in Jerusalem.
The IAA will begin by using multi-spectral imaging technology developed by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration to produce high-resolution images of the sometimes-faded texts that may reveal new letters and words.
They will then partner with Google to place the images online in a searchable database complemented by translation and other scholarly tools.
more Israel to put Dead Sea scrolls online - Yahoo! News
