AI deciphers 400-year-old Borg manuscript in Vatican Library

Researchers using machine learning have successfully begun deciphering the Borg manuscript, a 408-page document held in the Vatican Apostolic Library that has remained unreadable for over 400 years. The manuscript is written using 34 unknown symbols, Roman letters, and an Arabic cover, making it nearly impossible to decode without a known key.

Initial findings reveal that the text contains thousands of secret medical remedies and healing practices. These included instructions such as consuming high-quality red wine or fermenting large quantities of nutmeg to treat dysentery. Historians believe these medical secrets were encoded to protect practitioners from accusations of witchcraft or other suspicions during that era.

The decoding process, described by computational linguistics professor Beáta Megyesi as a detective-like investigation, utilizes artificial intelligence to navigate the challenges posed by damaged pages, poor calligraphy, and ink degradation. The digitized manuscript is available via the Vatican Library under the signature Borg. lat. 898.