The Archimedes Palimpsest

A palimpsest is a page from an ancient text that has another text hidden beneath that which appears on the surface.

Archimedes  (287-212 BC), the immortal Greek mathematician,  is known only through two ancient texts that carried his writings into contemporary times, or I should say, was....was only known by two surviving texts.

Archimedes

Now there is a third.... a third  text, The Archimedes Palimpsest, was found hidden beneath the pages of an ancient prayer book that used recycled parchment paper, on which Archimedes' words and ideas remained hidden for centuries.

The Archimedes Palimpsest

How that third text, The Archimedes Palimpsest, was discovered and how its secrets have been revealed is a fascinating story, presented by William Noel, Curator of Manuscripts and Ancient Texts at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland.  

Here is the link to William Noel's  TED video presentation...

 http://www.ted.com/talks/william_noel_revealing_the_lost_codex_of_archimedes.html