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David Is the real-life Da Vinci Code about to be decoded? Scientists finally work out age of mystery manuscript
By Daniel Bates
Last updated at 3:30 PM on 11th February 2011
Last updated at 3:30 PM on 11th February 2011
The bizarre sequence of symbols, charts and figures have baffled the world of science for the last 100 years.
But now thanks to carbon dating, researchers have finally begun to pick apart the secrets of the Voynich manuscript, the most alien artifact of its kind in the world.
They have been able to determine for the first time that it was written in the early 15th century, more than 100 years earlier than previously thought.
Voynich manuscript: Thanks to carbon dating, scientists have finally discovered that the most alien artifact of its kind in the world was written in the early 15th century, more than 100 years earlier than previously thought
And while they are no closer to understanding what the complex text actually means, putting a date on it takes them a huge step closer to discovering what it is really about.
What is known sounds like the plot from a film and makes the Da Vinci Code pale by comparison.
The manuscript was discovered by rare book dealer Wilfrid Voynich in the Villa Mondragone near Rome in 1912 as he was trawling through a chest of books.
He spent the remaining 18 years of his life trying to decipher its mixture of plants, circles and humans praying to the fountain of youth but died before completing his task.
The manuscript has been passed down through generations of scientists since then who have concluded that it is some kind of language - even if they don’t know what it means.
The latest to take up the challenge were a team from the University of Arizona who dissected four 1mm by 6mm sections from four sample pages they were given by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University, which is where it is being stored.
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Puzzle: While researchers are no closer to understanding what the complex text actually means, putting a date on it takes them a huge step closer to discovering what the manuscript is really about
Other experts also looked at the paints and inks that were used by the mysterious author.
Dr Greg Hodgins, an assistant research scientist and assistant professor in the UA's department of physics, who led the project, said that they found some of the colours were consistent with those used in the Renaissance.
But what really helped was the carbon dating process, which is where scientists measure the amount of radioisotope Carbon 14 which occurs naturally in objects and decays at a predictable rate, making it possible to use it to date things.
That process allowed Dr Hodgins to pinpoint the early 15th century as the only time the manuscript could have been written.
Discovery: The manuscript was found by rare book dealer Wilfrid Voynich in the Villa Mondragone near Rome in 1912 as he was trawling through a chest of books
‘I find this manuscript is absolutely fascinating as a window into a very interesting mind. Piecing these things together was fantastic.'
'It's a great puzzle that no one has cracked, and who doesn't love a puzzle?’ he said.
‘Is it a code, a cipher of some kind? People are doing statistical analysis of letter use and word use - the tools that have been used for code breaking. But they still haven't figured it out.’
Dr Hodgins added that he found the text shows ‘strange characteristics like repetitive word use or the exchange of one letter in a sequence.
‘Oddities like that make it really hard to understand the meaning.
‘Who knows what's being written about in this manuscript, but it appears to be dealing with a range of topics that might relate to alchemy.
‘Secrecy is sometimes associated with alchemy, and so it would be consistent with that tradition if the knowledge contained in the book was encoded.
'What we have are the drawings. Just look at those drawings: Are they botanical? Are they marine organisms? Are they astrological? Nobody knows.'
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