1500 year old Bible written in ink from urine

Rehabilitation experts in Italy discovered purple dyes to create one of the oldest New Testament writings made from lichen combined with fermented urine.

According to Science Alert, the new analysis could help end the centuries-long debate about how ancient book makers produced the Codex purpureus Rossanen from 1,500 years ago with primitive tools and limited resources.

"Although the manuscripts from the early Middle Ages were thoroughly studied under the historical point of view, their composition was not fully described , " Marina Bicchieri, director of the laboratory of the Easter Research Institute. Recovery and Conservation of the Archives and Heritage Library (ICRCPAL), Rome.

The researchers discovered ink material when ICRCPAL restored the book displayed at the Rossano Stake Museum, a town in southern Italy. The book is believed to be brought by monks to Italy from Syria in 1879.

Painting depicts the process of copying the Bible.(Photo: Wikimedia).

Scientists at ICRCPAL use X-rays to check the composition of inks used to write books. They compared their findings to laboratory-produced dyes according to the formula found in Stockholm papyrus, a document chronicling the recipe for Greek ink writing dating back to about five years. 300 BC.

The team reports the famous purple dye, once thought to be made from Murex sea snail , actually extracted from lichen Roccella tinctoria and sodium carbonate . The dye is more likely to be treated with fermented urine so that the ingredients blend together.

"FORS reflective fiber spectra showed that the dye used in the book and urine-treated dyes match perfectly with each other," Bicchieri said.

Sodium carbonate can be extracted from natron ore, the material used in mummification in ancient Egypt, according to Discovery News. Urine is also the only source of ammonia available to humans 1,500 years ago.

However, the text that scientists study is not the full version of the 188-page book, resulting from a fire inside the church . "Most likely what we keep today is only half of the original book , " said a museum employee.

Restoring the book is difficult due to its vulnerability. In addition, the group of Bicchieri had to overcome the damage from a previous research group when they tried to restore the book in 1917, leading to some pages completely unrecoverable.