The 10th century parchment document known as the Archimedes Palimpsest, contains the oldest surviving copy of works by the Greek genius Archimedes of Syracuse (287 – 212 BC). To uncover his obscured writings we developed the technique of rapid-scan X-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. Since its successful application in the Archimedes imaging project, we further optimized the method over the last decade, enabling us to carry out numerous imaging studies of large objects of cultural, archaeological and paleontological importance.
In this lecture, we will describe the X-ray imaging method and present some of the most exciting results of our quest to uncover our cultural and natural heritage. Besides the Archimedes Palimpsest, these examples include the imaging of a seventh-century Qur’an palimpsest, the original score of the opera Médée by Italian composer Luigi Cherubini and our most recent project to read the overwritten Syriac translation of work by the Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher Galen of Pargamon, arguably the most accomplished of all medical researchers of antiquity.
Please join us in a fascinating journey through our ancient history, and see how powerful modern X-ray imaging methods help us to uncover it.
Zoom recording of talk: https://osu.app.box.com/file/718086011170?s=znslmic0mddfihdy33w1bi3qjtiiul2s
