Imaging expert Bruce Zuckerman and BAS Showcase RTI Imaging of Ancient Inscriptions

Nov. 14, 2011 - PRLog -- On the Biblical Archaeology Society’s Web site, Bible History Daily (BHD), Biblical scholar and digital imaging expert Bruce Zuckerman introduces readers to RTI imaging, a revolutionary photographic technology that is changing the way scholars read and interpret ancient inscriptions. With the RTI imaging tools available on BHD, anyone can try out and experiment with this amazing new technology in a matter of minutes.

RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging), created by merging a series of pictures taken with multiple light sources at different angles and distances around an object, is much more powerful than standard digital photography. When viewed on a computer, RTI images of ancient inscriptions can be virtually manipulated to reveal subtle details invisible to the naked eye. The computer’s cursor becomes a powerful virtual flashlight, allowing users to illuminate and examine even the smallest details of ancient inscriptions with a light that can shine from every conceivable direction and angle.

From the BHD Web site, viewers can download the InscriptiFact RTI viewer, as well as RTI images of three incredible artifacts that have been made available: a first-century C.E. Jewish coin dated to the third year of the First Jewish Revolt; a 4,000-year-old administrative tablet written in early cuneiform; and a fragment of a Dead Sea Scroll containing an ancient Jewish prayer of atonement.

Users will be stunned as even the smallest details from each artifact appear with brilliant clarity. In this RTI image of a Dead Sea Scroll fragment, for example, one can easily see the texture of the dried animal skin upon which the text was written. Even more striking, the individual ink strokes that the scribe used to create and form each letter now have depth and dimension.

On BHD, users can also find useful instructions for downloading and viewing the RTI images, as well as instructive YouTube videos about the InscriptiFact viewer and how and why RTI works.

Bruce Zuckerman is professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Southern California. He directs the West Semitic Research Project and specializes in photographing ancient inscriptions.

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The Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) was founded in 1974 as a nonprofit, nondenominational, educational organization dedicated to the dissemination of information about archaeology in the Bible lands.