Using high powered lights, scientists at the University of Cardiff have developed a way of reading ancient texts and writings without having to touch or unroll the item.Many of the most ancient writings, like some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, are unreadable. Not because or the language they were written in, or because of fading inks, but because the simple act of attempting to unroll or open the document would destroy it. With this method, many previously unreadable documents are now able to be read.
The scientists call their machine the synchrotron. The process works much like an X-Ray where the high intensity light illuminates the text within the document. Then a computer virtually “unrolls” the document. Allowing the text to be read.
Via BBC: ‘Super-scope’ to see hidden texts
