Long-lost page of Archimedes' writings rediscovered in France

"The Archimedes Palimpsest is one of the treasures of antiquity. This medieval manuscript, dating the to the 10th century, includes copies of the writings of Archimedes of Syracuse, a Greek mathematician and scientist who laid the foundations of modern calculus, geometry and fundamental physics."

"The page has been missing for years: we know that in 1906 a historian photographed much of the manuscript but sometime later, some of the pages mysteriously went missing. Researchers discovered the missing sheet, page 123, in the Museum of Fine Arts in Blois, according to the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)."

"One side of the page includes a writing from Archimedes' treatise On the Sphere and the Cylinder, much of which is legible, according to the CNRS. The text on the other side of the page is less certain: whatever was written there is covered up by a gilded illustration of the Biblical prophet Daniel."

The Archimedes Palimpsest, a 10th-century medieval manuscript, contains copies of writings by Archimedes of Syracuse, the Greek mathematician and scientist who contributed foundational work to calculus, geometry, and physics. A missing page from this important manuscript was discovered in the Museum of Fine Arts in Blois. Page 123 includes legible text from Archimedes' treatise On the Sphere and the Cylinder on one side. The other side contains text obscured by a gilded illustration of the Biblical prophet Daniel. Researchers plan to use advanced imaging techniques, including x-rays, to reveal the hidden text beneath the drawing.

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