A long-lost page from The Archimedes Palimpsest, the earliest surviving copy of works by the renowned ancient Greek mathematician, has been located at the Museum of Fine Arts in Blois, France. This page, absent for 120 years, reveals a portion of Archimedes's treatise On the Sphere and the Cylinder, while the reverse side was obscured by a decorative illumination added in the 20th century.
The Palimpsest, originating from the 10th century in Greece, contains multiple writings by Archimedes, many of which were erased during the Middle Ages to repurpose the valuable parchment. According to the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), this practice was common due to the high cost of animal-skin writing materials.
As highlighted in Scientific American, Archimedes, who lived around 250 B.C.E. in Syracuse, was a pivotal figure in mathematics, physics, and engineering, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire contemporary scientific inquiry. His death, reportedly at the hands of a Roman soldier while engrossed in calculations, adds a layer of intrigue to his storied life.
The missing page had not been seen since it was photographed by a historian in 1906. Currently, The Archimedes Palimpsest is housed at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, where it was featured in a 2011 exhibition. The manuscript was acquired for $2 million at a Christie's auction in 1998, recognized as one of the most significant scientific manuscripts ever sold.
Recent advancements in multispectral imaging technology have allowed researchers to uncover previously illegible texts within the Palimpsest. The CNRS researcher responsible for the rediscovery aims to employ similar imaging techniques alongside synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence analyses to further reveal the text on the recovered page.
In a statement, CNRS expressed optimism about this discovery, noting it could reinvigorate efforts to re-examine the entirety of the Archimedes Palimpsest using more sophisticated methods than those available in the early 2000s. This renewed interest could lead to a fresh understanding of the texts that have remained hidden.