Projects:2015s1-31 Cracking the Voynich manuscript code
Contents
Introduction
Team
Supervisors
Honours Students
Project Information
Background
The Voynich Manuscript is a document written in an unknown script that has been carbon dated back to the early 15th century [1] and believed to be created within Europe [2]. Named after Wilfrid Voynich, whom purchased the folio in 1912, the manuscript has become a well-known mystery within linguistics and cryptology. It is divided into several different section based on the nature of the drawings [3]. These sections are:
- Herbal
- Astronomical
- Biological
- Cosmological
- Pharmaceutical
- Recipes
The folio numbers and examples of each section are outlined in appendix section A.2. In general, the Voynich Manuscript has fallen into three particular hypotheses [4]. These are as follows:
- Cipher Text: The text is encrypted.
- Plain Text: The text is in a plain, natural language that is currently unidentified.
- Hoax: The text has no meaningful information.
Note that the manuscript may fall into more than one of these hypotheses [4]. It may be that the manuscript is written through steganography, the concealing of the true meaning within the possibly meaningless text.
Technical Background
The vast majority of the project relies on a technique known as data mining. Data mining is the process of taking and analysing a large data set in order to uncover particular patterns and correlations within said data thus creating useful knowledge [6]. In terms of the project, data shall be acquired from the Interlinear Archive, a digital archive of transcriptions from the Voynich Manuscript, and other sources of digital texts in known languages. Data mined from the Interlinear Archive will be tested and analysed for specific linguistic properties using varying statistical methods.
The Interlinear Archive, as mentioned, will be the main source of data in regards to the Voynich Manuscript. It has been compiled to be a machine readable version of the Voynich Manuscript based on transcriptions from various transcribers. Each transcription has been translated into the European Voynich Alphabet (EVA). An example of the archive in EVA and the corresponding text within the Voynich Manuscript can be seen within the appendix section A.3. The EVA itself can be seen within appendix section A.4.
Aim
Motivation
Significance
Approach
Deliverables
Future Pathways
Resources
- Standard University Computers
- MATLAB Computing Environment
- C++ Programming Language
- BASH Scripts
- Electronic Voynich Transcriptions
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights in various languages
- Various electronic English texts
