Name: How I'm discovering the secrets of ancient texts
Uploaded: 2016-02-10T15:47:07Z
Duration: 11 min 57 s
Description: Gregory Heyworth is a textual scientist; he and his lab work on new ways to read ancient manuscripts and maps using spectral imaging technology. In this fascinating talk, watch as Heyworth shines a light on lost history, deciphering texts that haven't been read in thousands of years. How could these lost classics rewrite what we know about the past?

Gregory Heyworth: How I'm discovering the secrets of ancient texts

How I'm discovering the secrets of ancient texts

Gregory Heyworth is a textual scientist; he and his lab work on new ways to read ancient manuscripts and maps using spectral imaging technology. In this fascinating talk, watch as Heyworth shines a light on lost history, deciphering texts that haven't been read in thousands of years. How could these lost classics rewrite what we know about the past?

Spectral imaging technology is uncovering countless ancient manuscripts once thought lost to fire, mold, and war. In one case, a library in Timbuktu survived destruction by outsmarting attackers, but now faces threats from climate. With over 60,000 pre-1500 manuscripts in Europe alone rendered unreadable, new discoveries could upend our understanding of literature, science, and culture. Combining old-world scholarship with cutting-edge science, this approach recovers voices and stories thought silenced forever.