Carlsberg Infrastructure Grant Infrastructure for multi- and hyperspectral image acquisition

Manuscripts from the Middle Ages are far from static. They were created with several layers added on to each other, but over time, these layers have been blurred and erased. Now, through an imaging technology it is possible to access these hidden passages.

The project will focus on manuscripts from the medieval and to the early modern period, a time when new material was added to existing older manuscripts. One out of five books from the 16th and 17th centuries hides fragments that now can be recovered.

The technology of multi- and hyperspectral imaging (MSI and HSI) will make it possible to find these new layers in the manuscripts. HSI and MSI use specific wavelengths, such as ultra-violet and near-infrared, to capture otherwise faded or obscured texts.