AI analysis suggests Dead Sea Scrolls are older than scientists thought, but not all experts are convinced

A fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls held by a gloved hand.

Many of the Dead Sea Scrolls may be older than experts thought, according to an artificial intelligence (AI) analysis.

Consisting of about 1,000 ancient manuscripts etched onto animal skin, papyrus and copper, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain the earliest known versions of texts from the Hebrew Bible — including copies of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Kings and Deuteronomy — and date from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D.