The Dead Sea Scrolls remain one of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made. Although the scrolls are over 2000 years old, they remain some of the best-preserved written material in the world. The scrolls were mostly written on parchment which involves writing directly on an animal's skin.
Among all of the Dead Sea Scrolls, one particular scroll called the Temple Scroll is notable because of the thinness and bright ivory color of its parchment.
The Temple Scroll is the longest scroll and one of the most famous scrolls in the Dead Sea Scrolls collection.
As the longest scroll, it measures over 28 feet in length and consists of 66 columns of text. The scroll has been dated to the second century B.C.E.
It is also unique in its contents and mentions various subjects and rules pertaining to festivals, temple practices, and the statutes of kings.
Scientists have studied the parchment of the Temple Scroll to discover that it is a layered structure. Using different analytical techniques, scientists discovered that there was a spread of salt coating across the writing surface of the Temple Scroll.
Researchers believe that a specific technique was used to produce the Temple Scroll that was different from the other Dead Sea Scrolls.
In order to make the Temple Scroll whiter in color, it was coated in a combination of salts. These salts were unlike the salts used in the preservation of the other Dead Sea Scrolls. The origin of these salts remains unknown.
Researchers believe that special care was taken with the Temple Scroll to preserve it.
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