A major international research project will use artificial intelligence, chemical analysis, and handwriting studies to determine where the Dead Sea Scrolls were produced and written, potentially answering one of archaeology’s biggest unanswered questions.

The five-year project is being led by Mladen Popović of the University of Groningen after receiving a €2.5 million grant from the European Research Council. The study is being conducted in partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority and research laboratories across Europe.

Researchers will examine roughly 250 parchment and papyrus samples from the Dead Sea Scrolls collection using chemical testing of ink, parchment, and papyrus alongside AI-powered analysis, paleography, and codicology. The goal is to identify unique material and stylistic “fingerprints” that could reveal whether the scrolls were produced at Qumran, in Jerusalem, or at multiple writing centers across ancient Judea.

The project will also compare the Dead Sea Scrolls with ancient Egyptian papyrus samples for the first time, allowing researchers to trace raw materials, production methods, and possible connections between different ancient writing centers.

Scientists hope the AI models will help analyze more than 25,000 surviving manuscript fragments, creating an unprecedented database that could map where individual scribes worked, how texts were produced and distributed, and how knowledge spread throughout ancient Judea.

“The combination of advanced laboratory testing, handwriting analysis, and artificial intelligence allows us to ask questions that couldn’t be answered before,” Popović said. “Not only who wrote these texts, but where they were written, how they circulated, and what role they played in the society of the time.”

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said the project will help preserve and better understand one of Judaism’s most significant archaeological discoveries, calling the Dead Sea Scrolls a powerful testament to the Jewish people’s deep historical roots in the Land of Israel.

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