The book containing a language that no one on the planet can read was created in the early 15th century, American scientists claim.
Illustrations and letters from a page of the “Voynich Manuscript”. (Photo: typepad.com)
According to Livescience, the Voynich Manuscript, known as one of the most mysterious books on the planet, is written in a language that no one can read or find anywhere else. Many studies suggest that the characters within the book actually belong to a language, rather than being random symbols. Some experts believe the book was written in a code to conceal its true content, a common practice in the early 17th century.
The manuscript consists of 250 pages made of vellum and contains numerous illustrations of objects such as plants, ancient experimental devices, and astrological symbols. There are even many illustrations of women in bathtubs. All the plants depicted in the book seem to be non-existent on Earth, as scientists have not been able to identify any of them. Some plants have very strange leaves and roots.
“No one knows the content of the Voynich Manuscript, but it appears to encompass many topics related to chemistry,” stated Greg Hodgins, a chemistry and archaeology expert from the University of Arizona in the United States.
Since the book is made of vellum, the radiocarbon dating method (C-14) can determine its age. This method is nearly 100% accurate when applied to objects less than 60,000 years old.
When animals and plants die, the amount of C-14 decays at a certain rate. Scientists can use the decay rate of C-14 to calculate the time that has elapsed since their death.
Hodgins’s team took four thin strips of leather, each about 2.5 cm long, from some pages in the book and cleaned them of dust and grease (from human sweat). They then burned them to eliminate everything except carbon and its isotopes. Finally, they measured the C-14 concentration in the ash. The results showed that the book was written in the early 15th century, a century earlier than many scientists had predicted.
The Voynich Manuscript first appeared in the late 16th century. The Roman Emperor Rudolph II, an avid collector of antiques, purchased the Voynich in Prague (now the Czech Republic). After Rudolph II’s death, many nobles and scholars successively owned the book. The Voynich manuscript then disappeared at the end of the 17th century. In 1912, the book reappeared and was owned by American book dealer Wilfrid Voynich. From then on, the name Voynich Manuscript began to be assigned to the book. After Voynich’s death, the book was donated to Yale University in the United States.
The age of the Voynich Manuscript may help scientists find more clues in studying the book. However, it is very likely that its content will never be uncovered. The latest computer programs and the world’s best cryptographers have been powerless to decode the book. Perhaps the “key” for experts to decipher the book has long been destroyed. Nevertheless, the scientific community hopes that future technologies may help subsequent generations to bring the secrets of the Voynich Manuscript to light.
