Famed classical works rediscovered
{{date|April 17, 2005}}

Researchers at {{w|Oxford University}} are using state-of-the-art technology to uncover works from some of the most important writers of the ancient world, works which have not been read for many centuries. They come from a cache of papyri that were salvaged about a hundred years ago in the Greco-Egyptian town of {{w|Oxyrhynchus}}.

The ink on many of these {{w|papyrus|papyri}} had faded to the point that no text at all was visible to the naked eye, yet using state of the art techniques borrowed from {{w|Remote sensing|satellite imaging}}, researchers were able to use {{w|infrared|infra-red light}} to see the faded ink. 

There are thousands of {{w|manuscript|manuscripts}} which are set to be read in this manner, and works of {{w|Sophocles}}, {{w|Euripides}}, and {{w|Hesiod}} which have been unavailable for well over a thousand years have already been recovered. The process by which these papyri are reconstructed is very time consuming &mdash; it will take a decade to finish the entire corpus. Among the documents set to be analysed include previously lost writings of {{w|Aeschylus}}, {{w|Ovid}}, and a series of {{w|Christianity|Christian}} {{w|gospel|gospels}}.

{{haveyoursay}}
== Related news ==
* {{wikinews|title=Infrared technology enables recovery of lost classical writings|date=April 20, 2005}}

== Sources ==
{{source|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=630165
 |title=Decoded at last: the 'classical holy grail' that may rewrite the history of the world
 |author=David Keys and Nicholas Pyke
 |pub=The Independent
 |date=April 17, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.legendgames.net/showstory.asp?page=blognews/stories/ST0000030.txt
 |title=Previously Illegible Works Of Sophocles, Euripides, Ovid and Aeschylus Emerge
 |author=Dan Riehl
 |pub=Blogger News Network
 |date=April 17, 2005}}

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[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Culture and entertainment]]
[[Category:Science and technology]]
[[Category:University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Archaeology]]
Researchers at Oxyrhynchus.

The ink on many of these papyri had faded to the point that no text at all was visible to the naked eye, yet using state of the art techniques borrowed from satellite imaging, researchers were able to use infra-red light to see the faded ink. 

There are thousands of manuscripts which are set to be read in this manner, and works of Euripides, and Aeschylus, Christianity|Christian gospels.
Europe United Kingdom Culture and entertainment Science and technology University of Oxford Archaeology