Discovered a medieval manuscript warehouse used to cover books

By new technology, Dutch scholars and scientists are reading manuscripts of up to 1,300 years old, which are used to cover books. This includes the manuscript of monk Saint Bede from the 8th century.

Many medieval manuscripts have been recycled, used to affix the inner layer of the book cover to make the book more rigid. By radiography, scientists and scholars are trying to reread the manuscripts - which are not decipherable with the naked eye - thanks to medieval ink mixed with iron, copper and zinc.

Dr. Erik Kwakkel, a medieval book researcher at the University of Leiden, said: "This is like a treasure. Very interesting."

Thanks to the new technology, you can access this "hidden library" without removing the book cover. These covers were from the 15th to the 18th centuries, containing many slightly older manuscripts, possibly from the 9th century or more. The binding by recycling medieval books has become obsolete when printing technology was born.

When printing technology was not developed, many manuscripts were recycled to make book covers.

"It's great to find an ancient manuscript of the Bible - the most important medieval text," Dr. Kwakkel said. "If you go to the British Library or the Bodleian in Oxford, you can find thousands of books like this. That shows how great this is."

Initially, scholars found the 12th-century manuscripts of monk Bede - living in the 8th century. Even, there are books, they can disassemble many pages of ancient texts affixed to together. Otherwise, they can read it with new technology.

Professor Joris Dik from Delft University of Technology said this technology not only helps detect hidden documents but also makes it easier to read. This technology is also used to detect hidden layers underneath in masters' paintings. For example, in 2011, they discovered Rembrandt's unprecedented portrait of himself under another work. Professor Dik's studies are funded by the Young Academy, the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Last year, Vito Mocella, a Naples scientist, also discovered X-ray techniques to decode the black papyrus rolls burned and buried in ash when Vesuvius volcano 2,000 years ago.

Regarding Mocella's technique, Professor Dik commented: "We are looking for text that is hidden under thicker layers. Parchment and papyrus are relatively different. The paper is thicker, harder to see."