Buzz
The field of archaeology is brimming with covert messages from ancient times. Frequently, these hidden writings are right before our eyes, concealed beneath monuments or hidden within machinery. Often, they are embedded in later creations, leaving only faint traces imperceptible to the naked eye. However, modern advancements such as X-rays, CT scans, multispectral imaging, and robotic technology are helping uncover these long-forgotten works.
10. Codex Selden
For years, scholars believed that the Codex Selden hid secret messages beneath its surface. Concealed for almost 500 years under a coating of gypsum and chalk, this precolonial Mexican manuscript consists of leather strips covered with gesso, a plaster-like substance. In 2016, the use of hyperspectral imaging finally allowed experts to peer beneath the surface of the Mixtec manuscript, uncovering hidden text and imagery. The method works by capturing high-resolution images across a wide range of wavelengths.
The process of scanning the entire manuscript is still in progress. Until it's fully completed, researchers are hesitant to make definitive statements about the concealed content. However, the few details they have disclosed are fascinating. New characters and texts have surfaced, with hidden writing appearing horizontally across the page, unlike the manuscript’s usual vertical bottom-to-top orientation. Experts report that even more revelations are waiting to be uncovered within the Codex Selden's pages.
9. The Hidden Message in Lincoln’s Watch
On April 13, 1861, Jonathan Dillon, an Irish immigrant and watchmaker, etched a secret message into Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch. While working at M.W. Galt and Co. jewelers in Washington, DC, Dillon was repairing the president’s watch on the same day Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, igniting the US Civil War. The message remained concealed until the Smithsonian opened the watch in 2009.
Dillon’s inscription read: “The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a president who at least will try.” Dillon and Lincoln never crossed paths, and Lincoln never saw the message hidden inside his timepiece.
In the 1850s, Lincoln acquired a gold pocket watch from George Chatterton, a jeweler in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln wasn’t known for extravagance, but the gold watch symbolized his prominent legal career. In 1958, the 16th president’s great-grandson, Lincoln Isham, gifted the watch to the Smithsonian.
8. The Magical Language of the Silver Scroll
In 2014, archaeologists discovered a small amulet during an excavation in Jerash, Jordan. The site had once been inhabited by Greeks, Romans, and later Arabs, but a catastrophic earthquake in AD 749 destroyed the settlement. The amulet was a silver scroll measuring 5 centimeters (2 inches) in length. Corrosion on the surface concealed a finely coiled silver plate, hammered to a thickness of just .01 centimeters. After careful polishing, researchers realized there was text. Despite their eagerness to read it, the plate was too fragile to unroll.
In 2015, researchers utilized CT scanning technology to virtually unroll the scroll. They discovered 17 lines of text, each consisting of five characters. The first line contained spells written in Greek, while the following lines were completely indecipherable. Linguists believe these lines were written in 'pseudo-Arabic.' Writing in 'secret, magical languages' was common during that time. With low literacy rates, even meaningless words could be perceived as possessing magical significance.
7. The Novgorod Codex
In 2000, archaeologists working in Novgorod, Russia, unearthed the earliest known book created by the Rus’ people. Composed of three waxed wooden tablets, the Novgorod Codex is so filled with hidden text that it has been dubbed a 'hyper-palimpsest.' (A palimpsest is a manuscript that has been scraped clean and reused.) Dating back to the 11th century, the Cyrillic text preserves two Psalms. After the wax was removed for conservation, restorers discovered that the wood still bore traces of earlier writings, including several previously unknown Slavonic works of indigenous origin.
Reconstructing these hidden writings is an exceptionally difficult task. Often, the faint traces of text are indistinguishable from the cracks and irregularities in the wood. The Codex had been reused multiple times, creating layer upon layer of concealed text. The consistent handwriting across these layers only adds to the complexity. This is the first hyper-palimpsest of its kind, and there are no standardized methods for decoding one... yet. The Novgorod Codex may contain dozens—or even hundreds—of hidden text layers.
6. Mussolini’s Message to the Future
In 2016, historians uncovered a hidden message beneath the base of Rome’s Mussolini Obelisk. The parchment, which details the rise of fascism and Mussolini’s achievements, was buried when the obelisk was erected in 1932. It had been mostly forgotten over the ensuing decades. Despite being buried under a 300-ton monument, the Codex Fori Mussolini was reconstructed from three obscure sources found in libraries across Rome.
Researchers believe the text was intended for people far in the future. Classic scholar Aurelio Giuseppe is credited with composing the three-part, 1,200-word eulogy. The text portrays Mussolini as a new Roman emperor. Along with the parchment is a medal depicting Mussolini wearing a lion skin. Latin was chosen to link the rise of fascism to the Roman Empire. Ironically, the text can only be revealed by toppling the obelisk, symbolizing the fall of fascism.
5. The Codex Zacynthius
In 1861, researchers first discovered hidden text in the Codex Zacynthius. The Codex is a palimpsest, as the high cost of writing materials made it common to recycle manuscripts. Originally, the Codex Zacynthius contained a seventh-century version of the Gospel of Luke. In the 13th century, the original text was erased to make space for an Evangeliarium, a collection of Gospel excerpts.
The Codex Zacynthius predates the formation of the New Testament, which was solidified in the 16th-century Textus Receptus. The manuscript’s name comes from the Greek island of Zakynthos, where it was found. Since 1984, Cambridge University has held the manuscript. In 2014, they raised £1.1 million to acquire it permanently. The aim is to use multispectral analysis to examine the hidden text. Scholars believe the Codex’s 176 vellum leaves still contain many undiscovered secrets.
4. Robot Researcher
In 2011, archaeologists employed the “Djedi” robot to uncover hidden messages within the Great Pyramid of Giza that had been concealed for 4,500 years. The robot returned with images of red hieroglyphs that were previously unknown. Researchers believe these hidden markings could provide insights into the mysterious narrow shafts of the Great Pyramid. First identified in 1872, two of these shafts connect the King’s Chamber to the exterior. Meanwhile, the others extend from the Queen’s Chamber and vanish into the pyramid’s interior.
Rudolf Gantenbrink became the first to explore the pyramid’s shafts with robots in 1993. Nine years later, another team returned to examine the southern shafts. Both expeditions concluded when the robot encountered enigmatic slabs secured by copper pins. The latest mission allowed the robot to use a “micro snake” camera, which passed through a tiny hole in the slab, offering a glimpse of the hidden chamber beyond.
3. Hidden Medieval Library
With the rise of the printing press in the 15th century, the era of handwritten manuscripts came to an end. Bookbinders often repurposed these older texts, cutting them up or recycling them. These ancient papers were used to strengthen the spines and covers of newer, more fashionable printed books. Thanks to macro X-ray fluorescent spectrometry, researchers can now examine these medieval text fragments without damaging the bookbinding. This technology not only reveals the hidden messages but also makes them readable.
The hidden fragments discovered so far mainly date back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Still, researchers remain hopeful that they will eventually uncover a medieval Bible or perhaps some Carolingian texts from the ninth century or earlier. To date, the oldest discovered fragment is from the 12th century and contains an excerpt from Bede's work, an eighth-century scholar and monk. In one instance, enough continuous material has been found to reconstruct three full pages of a manuscript.
2. 2,000-Year-Old Jewish Graffiti
In 2015, construction workers uncovered ancient hidden graffiti from the era of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The inscriptions were found in a ritual bath (mikvah) within a cave located beneath a school. Written in Aramaic, a language common at the time, these inscriptions are a rare find from this period. The graffiti was made using mud and ash.
The markings are difficult to decipher. Some believe they may be names. Experts have identified what looks like the name 'Cohen' and the word avad, meaning 'served.' Along with the text, there are numerous drawings of trees, a boat, and possibly a menorah. Mikvahs were vital to Jewish customs. As per tradition, the waters could not have touched human hands before use and were required to come from a natural source, such as a spring or rainwater.
1. Hidden Euripides
A research team from the Universities of Bologna and Gottingen uncovered hidden text from a fifth-century BC Greek play by Euripides, concealed beneath a 13th-century AD prophetic Old Testament manuscript. Euripides, one of Athens's most notable dramatists, wrote over 92 plays, but only 19 have survived. His works became foundational in education during the Hellenistic period, leaving a lasting influence on modern theater.
The hidden text was revealed through multispectral imaging in 2013. The original manuscript, a palimpsest, had been erased and overwritten, revealing Euripides's play as well as various ancient annotations. This precious text is now preserved at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate’s library in Jerusalem. The Palamedes Project is currently working on a critical edition of this ancient manuscript, which contains previously unknown Greek writings.
