How old are the dead sea scrolls?

Answer 1

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been dated in a variety of ways, including radiocarbon and by linguistics experts. Most tests agree that they were written at different times between 150 BCE and 70 BCE - this makes them around 2080 to 2160 years old. Pliny the Elder, writing around the time of the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, mentions an ancient Jewish sect known as the Essenes living in the area where the Scrolls were found and, as authorship is generally attributed to them, this is further evidence of their age. However, a limited number of other experts have argued that the Scrolls were written not by a Jewish sect but by an early Christian sect - which would mean that they must have been written later, either towards the end of Christ's lifetime or shortly afterwards. It should be noted that this theory is not favoured and scientific evidence points to a Jewish origin.

Answer 2

The Dead Sea Scrolls were carbon-dated to around 140-130 B.C. That makes them 2146±5 years old.