[UA] Archaic Bibliomancy

[Chris Cooper]

I've snipped this from the Tim Powers mailing list.
Nods to Amy. I thought it had UA applications.

Chris, who still thinks palimpsest sounds gay.

X-rays reveal Archimedes secrets 
By Jonathan Fildes 
Science and technology reporter, BBC News 

A series of hidden texts written by the ancient Greek
mathematician Archimedes are being revealed by US
scientists. 
Until now, the pages have remained obscured by
paintings and texts laid down on top of the original
writings. 

Using a non-destructive technique known as X-ray
fluorescence, the researchers are able to peer through
these later additions to read the underlying text. 

The goatskin parchment records key details of
Archimedes work, considered the foundation of modern
mathematics. 

The writings include the only Greek version of On
Floating Bodies known to exist, and the only surviving
ancient copies of The Method of Mechanical Theorems
and the Stomachion. 

In the treatises, the 3rd Century mathematician
develops numerical descriptions of the real world. 

"Archimedes was like no one before him," says Will
Noel, curator of manuscripts and rare books at the
Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland and director
of the imaging project. 

"It just doesn't get any better than rereading the
mind of one of the greatest figures of Western
civilisation." 

'Eighth wonder' 

Revealing Archimedes writings presents a huge
challenge to the imaging team. 

The original texts were transcribed in the 10th
Century by an anonymous scribe on to parchment. 

Three centuries later a monk in Jerusalem called
Johannes Myronas recycled the manuscript to create a
palimpsest. 

Palimpsesting involves scraping away the original text
so the parchments can be used again. To create a book,
the monk cut the pages in half and turned them
sideways. 

To create a book Myronas also used recycled pages from
works by the 4th Century Orator Hyperides and other
philosophical texts. 

Mr Noel describes the palimpsest as "the eighth wonder
of the world". 

"You never get three unique palimpsested texts from
the ancient world together in one book," he told the
BBC News website. "That's just completely unheard of."


The monks filled the recycled pages with Greek
Orthodox prayers. 

It's like receiving a fax from the 3rd Century BC 
Will Noel 

Later, forgers in the 20th Century added gold
paintings of religious imagery to try to boost the
value of the tome. 

The result was the near total obliteration of the
original texts apart from faint traces of the ink used
by the 10th Century Scribe. 

Bright light 

Previously the privately-owned palimpsest has been
investigated using various optical and digital imaging
techniques. 

However, much of the text remained hidden behind paint
and stains. 

The researchers have now turned to a technique known
as X-ray fluorescence to tease out the final details
of the writings. 

The method is used in may branches of science
including geology and biology. It has previously been
used by other researchers to decode ancient texts. 

In August 2005 a team from Cornell University
successfully deciphered a series of 2,000-year-old
worn down stone inscriptions. 

The X-rays are formed in a synchrotron - a particle
accelerator that uses electrons travelling at close to
the speed of light to generate powerful "synchrotron"
light. 

The light covers a wide range of the electromagnetic
spectrum, including powerful X-rays, a million times
more intense than a transmission X-ray used in medical
imaging. 

"In fluorescence it's like looking at the stars at
night whereas in transmission it's like looking during
the day," explains Dr Uwe Bergmann of the Stanford
Synchrotron Radiation Lab in the US, where the work is
being done. 

The light enables scientists to look inside matter at
the molecular and atomic scale. 

Glowing words 

The technique is particularly useful for probing the
palimpsest because the ink used by the scribe to
record Archimedes work contains iron. 

"When the X-rays hit an iron atom it emits a
characteristic radiation, it glows," says Dr Bergmann.
"When you record the glow you can reconstruct an image
of all of the iron in the book." 

ARCHIMEDES TEXTS IN THE PALIMPSEST 
Equilibrium of Planes 
Spiral Lines 
The Measurement of the Circle 
Sphere and Cylinder 
On Floating Bodies 
The Method of Mechanical Theorems 
Stomachion 

The glowing words are displayed on a computer screen,
giving the researchers the first glimpse of the text
in nearly 800 years. 

"It's like receiving a fax from the 3rd Century BC,"
said Mr Noel. "It's the most sensational feeling." 

Each page takes 12 hours to reconstruct as the highly
focused beam of X-rays, the width of a human hair,
sweeps across the page. 

The team have until the 7 August this year to
scrutinise the palimpsest, before the synchrotron is
switched off for maintenance. 

During that time they hope to scan between 12 and 14
pages, paying particular attention to the areas
covered with the forged paintings. 

The public can watch the researchers as they reveal
the glowing ancient text during a live webcast at 2300
GMT on 4 August. 

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/5235894.stm

Published: 2006/08/02 15:01:16 GMT

© BBC MMVI




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