[Elder of Ziyon] World's oldest complete Torah scroll discovered in Bologna

A fascinating story:

A professor at the University of Bologna has discovered the oldest complete Torah scroll in the world in the University Library of Bologna.

The document, "Rotolo 2" (Scroll 2), which contains the complete text of Pentateuch - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy - was handwritten on sheepskin parchment between 1155 and 1225 AD.

Mauro Perani, professor of Hebrew studies at the University of Bologna, was examining the manuscript for the library's new catalogue when he realised that even though it was dated 17th century it was, in fact, much older.

He came to that conclusion, he said, because the handwriting "was very old and of oriental origin".

"[The text] did not respect the basic rules of Maimonides, who in the 12th century fixed the rabbinic legislation as far as Pentateuch writing is concerned," he said, according to local reports.

According to the professor, the document, which measures 36cm x 64cm [this is a typo, they meant 36 meters - EoZ], contains "letters and signs prohibited" after Maimonides' codification. He confirmed that the manuscript's value amounts to €1m.

Further authentication tests with Carbon-14 by the Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Department of Engineering of Innovation at the University of Salento confirmed the professor's conviction.

The document had been mistakenly catalogued by Leonello Modona in 1889 as belonging to the 17th century due to its "awkward handwriting".

The library has started implementing measures to preserve and safeguard the manuscript. It will be photographed and handed over for further studies to experts in a digital form.

Unfortunately, I don't know enough about Maimonides' laws of writing a Torah to know what rules were violated.

From the poor quality images, though, it is clear that the Torah looks fundamentally like the Torahs in use today.

(h/t Yerushalimey)



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Posted By Elder of Ziyon to Elder of Ziyon at 5/29/2013 11:00:00 AM