Saturday, September 19, 2026
Science

To read 2,000-year-old burned scrolls, scientists burn their own

Douglas Seiler painstakingly sourced papyrus and reed pens from Egypt and traditional lampblack ink from Japan, then paid some high school students to inscribe the papyrus with lines from Star Wars and the Bible and a quote from the '60s sci-fi TV show The Outer Limits.

To read 2,000-year-old burned scrolls, scientists burn their own
Image: Phys.org
Douglas Seiler painstakingly sourced papyrus and reed pens from Egypt and traditional lampblack ink from Japan, then paid some high school students to inscribe the papyrus with lines from Star Wars and the Bible and a quote from the '60s sci-fi TV show The Outer Limits.

Originally published at Phys.org

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