Researchers use modern technology to decode old parchment

Researchers are using hyperspectral imaging, a technique used in medical diagnostics and military aerial observations, to unlock the secrets of a mysterious, old and fragile parchment.
Researchers are studying a mysterious piece of parchment which lies at the Gunnerus Library of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), carefully protected from sunlight and heat.
It is cut in half, and is believed to be part of a book. The text is in Latin, written with illuminated letters in a gothic style. One of the letters is much larger than the rest, and is inlaid with gold foil.
The library has no information about the book aside from this bit of parchment. They don't know if the rest of the page is somewhere else in the world, or if the rest of the book even exists.

According to Victoria Juhlin, a conservator at the library, this page is most likely part of a church book from the 1400s, made by monks.
"One of the challenges of a project like this is studying the document as closely as possible. Documents like this are very sensitive and fragile, and should ideally not be touched or exposed to light," Juhlin said.

"Throughout history, many methods have been used that cause irreparable damage to manuscripts like this one," Juhlin added.
To find out more about this piece of parchment, the Gunnerus Library has been working with Emilio Catelli and a team of researchers from NTNU's Department of Chemistry.

Catelli has primarily been using a technique called hyperspectral imaging to determine the chemical composition of the pigments used in manuscripts.
Hyperspectral imaging has been used for medical diagnostics, among other things to characterise bruises.
The technique has been used to closely examine other forms of art, primarily paintings. However, it has not been used to look at old manuscripts.
"The technique is quite effective for examining old manuscripts, and yields much better results than other methods," said Catelli.
"Whole pages can be scanned and analysed in a matter of minutes. Fragile documents are also protected from marks and rough handling," said Catelli.

Hyperspectral imaging uses a hyperspectral camera to scan the document. Advanced cameras can differentiate between 160 colours, and have 1600 pixel sensors.
Catelli is examining if the parchment at the Gunnerus Library has been affected by any chemical reactions over time, to make sure that it is treated accordingly.
"So far, the examination that I've done has given us a lot of new information, but I need to verify it before I can say anything specific about the manuscript," Catelli said.
Catelli is also using modern technology to study a small book with a brown spine. The book used to belong to Sigrid Undset, and is of a religious nature.

He said with the modern technology, he is able to look at the manuscript in a very different way.