QuoteReplyTopic: Ancient manuscripts get a new lease of life Posted: 16-Apr-2005 at 21:23
Eureka! Extraordinary discovery unlocks secrets of the ancients
By David Keys and Nicholas Pyke
17 April 2005
Thousands of previously illegible manuscripts containing work by some
of the greats of classical literature are being read for the first time
using technology which experts believe will unlock the secrets of the
ancient world.
Among treasures already discovered by a team from Oxford University
are previously unseen writings by classical giants including Sophocles,
Euripides and Hesiod. Invisible under ordinary light, the faded ink
comes clearly into view when placed under infra-red light, using
techniques developed from satellite imaging.
The Oxford documents form part of the great papyrus hoard salvaged
from an ancient rubbish dump in the Graeco-Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus
more than a century ago. The thousands of remaining documents, which
will be analysed over the next decade, are expected to include works by
Ovid and Aeschylus, plus a series of Christian gospels which have been
lost for up to 2,000 years.
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