In an ambitious application of 21st century technology to a first century wonder, the Israel Antiquities Authority and internet search giant Google announced a plan to digitize the Dead Sea Scrolls and make the entire collection available to the public online.
The authority's general director, Shuka Dorfman, called the project a milestone that will enhance the field of biblical studies and people's understanding of Judaism and early Christianity. Made up of 30,000 fragments from 900 manuscripts, the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered by many historians to be one of the most important archaeological finds ever made. The ancient manuscripts, made of leather, papyrus and copper, were first discovered in 1947 by a nomadic shepherd in a cave near the Dead Sea. In the years that followed, more scroll fragments were located.
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/19/digitized-dead-sea-scrolls-to-be-available-online/
http://start.toshiba.com/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CD9IUV92O0%40news.ap.org%3E
