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VIDEO: Computer-generated unfolding animation of sealed letter DB-1538. In our paper we describe how "virtual unfolding " was used to read the contents of sealed letterpackets from 17th-century Europe without physically opening...
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Credit: Courtesy of the Unlocking History Research Group archive.
In a world first, an international team of researchers has read an unopened letter from Renaissance Europe - without breaking its seal or damaging it in any way.
The research, published in
Nature Communications, describes how an X-ray scanner used in dental research and 'virtual unfolding' allowed the interdisciplinary team to read the contents of a securely and intricately folded letter which has remained unopened for 300 years, while preserving its valuable physical evidence.