The Most Mysterious Manuscripts in History
Can you name an elusive book that is written in Egyptian Coptic, dating to around 1,300 years ago, and details a range of magic spells?
- This text is currently housed in Sydney, Australia, and includes rituals for love, healing, and exorcism.
While much of this book is written in decipherable Latin, it is interspersed with codes and glyphs that have not been decoded. Dealing incantations and found by John Dee in 1551, what is it called?
- One of the most interesting points surrounding this manuscript is that it simply vanished for decades without a trace. It reappeared in 1994 in the British Library, but no one knows how it got there.
What is the name of arguably the most mysterious and unintelligible manuscript of all time, dating to the 15th century and full of drawings of plants, animals, people, and constellations that don't exist on this planet?
- This book has yet to be cracked and the code has baffled people for decades since Wilfrid Voynich discovered the manuscript in 1912.
An incredible text that was found to be preserved inside Egyptian funeral wrappings, what is the name of this Etruscan text from around 2,200 years ago that might discuss funerary rites?
- You can now view this fascinating specimen in Croatia's Zagreb Museum — but beware of undead mummies!
This gospel-like text is recorded in Egyptian Coptic, dating around 1,500 years past, and includes oracles and prophecies. What is it called?
- Though its authorship is not verified, this oracular compendium might have been used to predict one's future actions.
What is the name of an 800-year-old manuscript that seems to track the movements of Venus through the sky, tieing into a larger Mayan calendar?
- After appearing in the early 1700s in Germany, this text has intrigued scientists and researchers for centuries.
While there have been several gospels penned around the time of the Bible's writing, what is the name of this testament written in Coptic that dates to the 3rd century A.D.?
- Though Judas Iscariot was the betrayer of Jesus in the New Testament, this mysterious gospel might hold some answers.
What is the title of this book that details the origin story of the K'iche' Maya people from Guatemala, describing twin heroes who conquer the underworld?
- The title translates to "Book of Counsel" and the text showcases the mythical origins of this Mayan people.
Several Mayan codexes survive from the heyday of that incredible civilization. Which one was found in the 1960s by a collector named Dr. Josué Saenex and dated as the oldest book from the time?
- The other Mayan books include the "Dresden Codex", "Madrid Codex", and "Paris Codex".
Dating to the 1500s and discovered in 1839, what is the name of the manuscript that includes old Hungarian and a mysterious alphabet that seems to refer to religious symbols of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and even old Sumar?
- This is one of the most enduring bibliographical mysteries that requires some serious code-breaking to read.
