Major ABMC field
projects in Jerusalem and Leningrad have contributed
significantly to access and translation.
In 1994, the ABMC collaborated with
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories
(Pasadena, CA) to use state of the
art digital image technology to elucidate
previously illegible text on deteriorating
Dead Sea Scrolls. Dr. Greg Bearman,
of NASA, used multi-spectral digital
imaging to identify the region within
the spectrum of light in which text
would/could be legible.
In visible light, both the ink and the blackened
animal hide, reflected equal amounts of light.
Hence, there was no contrast and the text was
invisible. Dr. Bearman discovered that at 900
nanometers into
the infrared, a contrast occurred between the
ink and the animal hide, and thus the text
became visible again.
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