Saturday, June 23, 2012

Reading the un-openable DSS

GOOGLE has a scholar working on reading the un-openable Dead Sea Scrolls:
Computer Science Professor to Become Visiting Research Scientist at Google Cultural Institute

Published: Jun 22, 2012 (University of Kentucky News)
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 22, 2012) — Brent Seales, director of the University of Kentucky Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments and Gill Professor in UK's Computer Science department will temporarily leave UK to accept a position as a visiting research scientist at the Google Cultural Institute. Specifically, Seales will be helping read the un-openable Dead Sea Scrolls through visualization. His role in this project will last for one year, which will be spent working in Paris.

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Follow the link for a cool video on his digital reading of carbonized scrolls from Herculaneum. Past posts on Professor Seales's work on these scrolls, which appears to have met with some success since, are here and here. This is really cutting-edge stuff.

Background on the Google/Israel Museum Digital Dead Sea Scrolls Project is here and here and links.

Bit by bit, a letter at a time, whatever it takes. Until we're done.