The Archimedes Palimpsest 2 Volume Set

Authoritative and fully illustrated account of the ten years of conservation, imaging and scholarship on the world's greatest palimpsest.

Reviel Netz (Edited by), William Noel (Edited by), Nigel Wilson (Edited by), Natalie Tchernetska (Edited by)

9781107016842, Cambridge University Press

, published 24 November 2011

700 pages, 58 b/w illus. 127 colour illus.
34.7 x 25.1 x 7.8 cm, 5 kg

'Cambridge University Press have surpassed themselves: these are, quite simply, among the loveliest printed books produced this century. Both volumes contain hundreds of photographs, all in breathtaking full colour; the type is elegant and spacious, and the page proportions of the layout are beautifully harmonious. It is a joy that serious books of such extraordinary art can still be produced.' The Times Literary Supplement

The Archimedes Palimpsest is the name given to a Byzantine prayer book that was written over a number of earlier manuscripts, including one that contained two unique works by Archimedes, unquestionably the greatest mathematician of antiquity. Sold at auction in 1998, it has since been the subject of a privately funded project to conserve, image, and transcribe its texts. In Volume 1 the scientists, conservators, classicists, and historians involved in the project discuss in full their techniques and their discoveries. These include new speeches by the classical Athenian orator Hyperides, a lost commentary on Aristotle's Categories from the second or third century AD, and substantial re-readings and reinterpretations of the works by Archimedes. Volume 2 contains a complete set of colour images and transcriptions of the most important manuscripts that constitute the Palimpsest. The volumes will be of interest to manuscript scholars, conservators, classicists, and historians of science.

Introduction: the Archimedes Palimpsest project William Noel
Part I. The Manuscripts: Part II. History: 1. The making of the Euchologion Abigail Quandt
2. The strange and eventful history of the Archimedes Palimpsest John Lowden
3. Itinera Archimedea: on Heiberg in Constantinople and Archimedes in Copenhagen Erik Petersen
Part III. Conservation: 4. Conserving the Archimedes Palimpsest Abigail Quandt
Part IV. The Digital Palimpsest: 5. Imaging and image-processing techniques William A. Christens-Barry, Roger L. Easton, Jr and Keith T. Knox
6. Imaging with x-ray fluorescence Uwe Bergmann
7. The Palimpsest data set Doug Emery, Alex Lee and Michael Toth
Part V. The Texts: 8. The Palimpsest in context Natalie Tchernetska and Nigel Wilson
9. The place of Codex C in Archimedes scholarship Reviel Netz
Appendix: concordance of foliations.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX], History of mathematics [PBX], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Conservation, restoration & care of artworks [ABC]