Researchers in Israel say they have developed a computer programme that can decipher previously unreadable ancient texts and possibly lead the way to a Google-like search engine for historical documents.

The programme uses a pattern recognition algorithm similar to those law enforcement agencies have adopted to identify and compare fingerprints.

But in this case, the programme identifies letters, words and even handwriting styles, saving historians and liturgists hours of sitting and studying each manuscript.

By recognising such patterns, the computer can recreate with high accuracy portions of texts that faded over time or even those written over by later scribes, said Itay Bar-Yosef, one of the researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

"The more texts the programme analyses, the smarter and more accurate it gets," Mr Bar-Yosef said.

The computer works with digital copies of the texts, assigning number values to each pixel of writing depending on how dark it is.

It separates the writing from the background and then identifies individual lines, letters and words.

It also analyses the handwriting and writing style, so it can "fill in the blanks" of smeared or faded characters that are otherwise indiscernible, said Mr Bar-Yosef.

The team has focused their work on ancient Hebrew texts, but they say it can be used with other languages, as well.