Constantine Simonides News Today

“Reading occupies a strange position in today’s world, being at once physiologically unnecessary and culturally central.”

From Renaissance rabbis to 19th-century forgers to John Pierpont Morgan's terrifying librarian, meet history's great manuscript addicts

Every once in a while, objects of interest come across my desk that hold certain features that lift them just beyond our understanding. The enigmatic Newton Stone is one such artifact, not only because this ancient monolith is inscribed with a carved message written in a mysterious and currently unsolved language, but also because the writing can be interpreted using at least five ancient alphabets.