The preservation and archiving of manuscripts provides tremendous resources for historians and researchers of all types. This longread looks at one particular archive located in the Sinai Desert that houses an enormous collection of one-of-a-kind manuscripts. Of particular focus are what are known as palimpsests -- texts that have been erased or overwritten. New imaging techniques have allowed more and more of these to be revealed. I think this is an interesting project especially in light of the article earlier this week about author's who disown their work. We tend to think of that applying only to relatively modern authors, but wouldn't it apply here as well? What are the ethics of uncovering texts that were erased thousands of years ago? I tend to think that these texts serve a greater purpose to society and academia by being revealed, but it is a challenging issue because clearly those texts were never meant to be discovered.
"In the Sinai, a global team is revolutionizing the preservation of ancient manuscripts" by Mark Schrope
Published in the Washington Post, September 6, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/in-the-sinai-a-global-team-is-revolutionizing-the-preservation-of-ancient-manuscripts/2012/08/30/1c203ef4-ca1f-11e1-aea8-34e2e47d1571_print.html
Eric
This is a great followup to the read from yesterday. It makes me think about the question: Does time play a role in what is too private to publish?
ReplyDeleteThis question plays into Bruce's comment from yesterday about publicizing a writer's private work.
It also is an interesting question about the line that gets draw between 'private forever' and what should remain private up until a point. Especially if (like this article talks about) new voices can be heard or new perspectives gained. Recently, an example is the Jesus/wife as disciple papyrus that was recently uncovered as a scrap...and could possibly have power to influence our society today.
Ok, I meant it's a good follow-up to that author retractions long read which I read yesterday:)
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