Scientists have presented the most detailed study to date of the controversial lead books known as the Jordan Codex. The work of scientists from the University of Surrey was published in the journal Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms.

The Jordan Lead Codices are a set of approximately 70 lead books that were allegedly found in a cave in Jordan between 2005 and 2007 and are believed by some supporters to be the oldest Christian texts. The scientific community is generally skeptical about their authenticity, with many experts considering them to be crude forgeries based on known Christian texts and images.TOThe codex contains the text of the Revelation of John the Theologian (Apocalypse) and other early Christian texts, possibly related to the life of Jesus Christ.

It is believed that they may have belonged to the first Christians who left Jerusalem after its destruction by the Romans in 70 AD. e. Critics point to obvious errors in the inscriptions, such as confusion between the Greek letters alpha and lambda.

The images on the codices often resemble well-known Byzantine mosaics. Most experts, including representatives from the University of Oxford and the Israel Antiquities Service, consider these artifacts to be fakes.

A new study shows that the outer pages of one of the books were subject to significant external contamination, making it difficult to determine their age. The inner pages are less contaminated and gave clear scientific signals:from them it can be stated that the material is at least 200 years old, although it may be older.

The scientists applied four analytical methods to the codex samples: impurity analysis, lead isotope measurements, alpha particle tests, and radiogenic helium analysis. None of the methods individually provided a definitive date, but taken together they provided a detailed picture of how different parts of the codes were created.

Tests do not allow us to confidently date objects older than 200 years, but they do not exclude this possibility, which leaves room for further, accurate research. The work did not confirm the origin of the codices from early Christian times, but they are certainly not modern.

“Our goal is to apply rigorous, objective science to a subject that has been the subject of much speculation. I have been studying these materials since 2011, and as analytical methods have improved, the picture has become nuanced. Some parts of the codices appear modern, while others show signs of old lead that cannot be explained by the use of modern materials. We could not prove that the codices are truly ancient, but we also could not prove that all the objects are modern. Some specimens have been tested as modern, while others are clearly older than 200 years, as far as current successful methods allow,” says Professor Roger Webb.