EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY UNLOCKS SECRETS OF THE ANCIENTS

The Scotsman ^ | Sat 16 Apr 2005 | (Drudgereport.com) Scotsman.com

[theDentist]

First words deciphered as: "Wife, take please."

[Servant of the 9]

This is probably about the Villa of the Scrolls at Naples. The lower library containing greek scrolls was charred beyond reading until now.

It may contain missing works of Aristotle and many plays known to have existed.

SO9

[longtermmemmory]

I bet this may piss off many of the revisionist history and anti-eurocentric anti-classic types.

If this is true, then we can defund the feminist study departments in favor of REAL studies.

[Zakhur]

I hope that a flowering of culture occurs as a result of the material in these texts. For European derived culture could certainly use one of those -- if it is even possible for something so multifaceted to FLOWER in some way from a single source. I wonder though if the literary art of the Helenes is capable of inspiring us who exist in the present era. The philosophical developments that resulted from the work of men like Plato and Aristotle have come to fruition and have leaped from the source to take on a life all their own in the thoughts of Immanuel Kant and his progeny Jean Paul Sartre. I hope that new works of philosophy are contained in those previously unreadable texts.

But as far as literature is concerned, can the Greeks do anything NOW to effect alteration in us? Personally I'd love to see the prediction come true. Can we speculate as to what "coming true" would be like?

[longtermmemmory]

I think it could at least nudge more studies into the classics and push us away from this BS PC history manurue that passes for studies now.

[Leo Carpathian]

Sooo, like if it was a fiction novel, how can they tell?
Or if it was written by Dan Rather or Michael Mooron of them times?

[hosepipe]

Who STOLE the Laptop Computers at White Sands.?.
Who murdered Vince Foster.?.
Which women has Hillary Clinton had sex with.?.
UGH... nevermind theres a new book on that..

[KevinDavis]

So we found the secret ancient Startgate network??

[Last Dakotan]

Euripides des pants you menda des pants!

[spyone]

The rumor is the lost Christian gospels are over 2,500 years old!

[SunkenCiv]

the article URL:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=630165

[Berosus]

Sounds interesting, but what's new about all this? I remember a science book dated to 1946 talking about using infrared light to make faded text visible, and they showed a picture of an ancient scroll that the technique worked on. I think it was one of the Nag Hammadi documents, the Gnostic texts found in Egypt.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Probably they'll find the lost comedy, "Dido & Oedipus" wherein Sophocles has Dido's hunchbacked slave say to Oedipus, "Walk this way."

[Finger Monkey]

It seems odd to me that scientists are just now using infra-red light on these documents. Is the infra-red system used in satellites recently developed?

Please excuse any excruciatingly stupid statements/questions, as I am but a layperson who is fascinated by science and archaeology. I tend not to post on these threads, as I am very concerned about appearing to be the ignoramus that I am. hmm. Gave myself away there, didn't I?

[T'wit]

Between us we'll learn all the ancient secrets from top to bottom, in one end and out the other.

[PatrickHenry]

Or Aristotle's failed attempt at popular writing:
"A funny thing happened to me on the way to the Parthenon ..."

[Drammach]

Just a guess here, but it is probably a matter of availability..
While the technology has been around for a while, and has undoubtedly been refined and improved, the technology is still fairly new, and expensive.. as well as still rarely available to non-governmental, non-military, etc..
Archaeologists are at the bottom of the access totem pole, unless something they study or discover has some "military" or "commercial" value.. ( which is probably something that has never happened )

Here's a couple of articles/ links that will explain the process and technology..

BYU Adapts Space-age Technology to Study Ancient Documents

How it works

[Finger Monkey]

Thank you so much for the information. It was very helpful and, well, illuminating.sorry

[Drammach]

I'm so bright my momma calls me sonny... ;oD

[Doctor Stochastic]

In the words of Enkidu, "Chogha Zanbil! Slowly I turned ... step by step ... shusi by shusi ...."