Early Medieval Syriac-Georgian Palimpsest at the HMML
Moreton will present on the imaging of an early medieval Syriac-Georgian palimpsest in the collection of the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library [HMML], MS Frag 32. The parchment bifolium contains 10th-c. Georgian upper writing, and two Syriac undertexts dating between the 6-8th centuries. Limited results with initial MSI imaging prompted a deeper dive using XRF technology at the Stanford’s SLAC lab in January 2020, with Mike Toth, HMML and SLAC teams. Moreton will discuss the challenges of imaging palimpsests with early Syriac undertexts [like the Syriac Galen and Archimedes palimpsests] – challenges that are connected to the production techniques and material properties particular to Syriac manuscripts from the period.
Melissa Moreton
Dr. Melissa Moreton is a manuscript scholar and codicologist. She currently works at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library in Minnesota [HMML], working to further the library’s mission of the global preservation of manuscript heritage, making these manuscripts available to broad audiences through digital access and scholarly and public engagement.