Unveiling the hidden secrets in ancient books using heritage science tech 🔬 The Hidden in Plain Sight project has been enabled by the UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council World Class Labs programme. Find out more about this work's impact in AHRC’s latest blog post: loom.ly/bE8dfqg Queen Mary Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences

Hidden in Plain Sight UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council Queen Mary Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Investment into the Cambridge University Library's Cultural Heritage Imaging Laboratory, has allowed the Hidden in Plain Sight team to access a variety of innovative technologies to explore how sacred books were used, modified and venerated. Discover some of the technologies in this thread...

Hidden in Plain Sight UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council Queen Mary Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences One of the first techniques used by the Hidden in Plain Sight was microscopy. Analysis of a 15th Century Book of Hours (CUL Dd.15.25) revealed damage marks created by an as yet unknown tool.

Hidden in Plain Sight UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council Queen Mary Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Another example of a technique being used in the Hidden in Plain Sight is Fiber Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS). This is a non-invasive technique to identify pigments and dyes. Here is Cambridge University Library’s first Heritage Scientist, Flavia Fiorillo demonstrating how it’s done!

🕵️‍♂️ @CUL MS Add.662, a 15th-century Ashkenazi Mahzor, has many Piyutim obscured by a waxy substance. However, one gloss shaped like a Magen David is partially visible after our MSI and XRF analyses. Can anyone help decipher the text beneath?

David Mills [Queen Mary University of London] visited the Cultural Heritage Imaging Lab Cambridge University Library today for an OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) session. We’re investigating the unique black material used to conceal several hymns in a 15th-century Jewish liturgical codex, CUL Add.662. #HebrewManuscripts

As part of the Hidden in Plain Sight, Amélie Deblauwe, an imaging specialist at the Cambridge University Library's Cultural Heritage Imaging Laboratory (CHIL), is using macro photography to reveal details of the binding of a 15th-C Jewish prayer book (MS Add.662). #HiddenInPlainSight

We’ve joined Bluesky! 🌟 You can now find us at @hips-project.bsky.social. See you there!

🚨 We're Hiring! 🚨 We're looking for a Research Project Coordinator to join our team! 📊 Interested? Apply here: jobs.ac.uk/job/DLT885/r... Feel free to share and spread the word! #JobOpening #Hiring #ResearchJobs