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An Assessment of the Radiocarbon Dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

G. A. Rodley*
Affiliation:
Pharmacy Department, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
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Abstract

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I suggest, on the basis of a statistical analysis, that recently determined “conventional radiocarbon ages” of Dead Sea Scroll documents are offset systematically by about +40 yr, leading to a similar overestimate of the ages of these documents. Much closer agreement with paleographic and specific dates is obtained when a correction of this magnitude is made to the “conventional 14C” values. This indicates that 14C dates may convey more precise information about the ages of these documents than initially recognized.

Type
Notes and Comments
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

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