Scientists in Israel are taking digital photographs of thousands of fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls with the aim of making the 2,000-year-old documents available to the public and researchers on the Internet. Israel’s Antiquities Authority, the custodian of the scrolls that shed light on the life of Jews and early Christians at the time of Jesus, said on Wednesday it would take more than two years to complete the project coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the ancient writings. Since Bedouin shepherds first came upon the scrolls in caves near the Dead Sea in 1947, only a small number of scholars have been allowed to view the fragments. But recently access to the scrolls has been widened and they were published in their entirety seven years ago.Using cameras almost 20 times more powerful than those in mobile phones, and lights that emit no damaging heat or ultraviolet beams, scientists in Israel have been able to decipher sections and letters in the scrolls invisible to the naked eye. A team of specialists has taken 4,000 pictures of some 9,000 fragments that make up the scrolls - 900 in total. A small number of large pieces of the scrolls are on permanent display at the Israel Museum. The scrolls, most of them on parchment, are the oldest copies of the Hebrew Bible and include secular text dating from the third century BC to the first century AD. Scientists hope the advanced imaging technology will also help them better preserve the scrolls by enabling them to detect any deterioration caused by humidity and heat. 08/28/08