Manuscript decoded using Artificial Intelligence

Article in the Independent relating how text appears to be written in Hebrew with letters rearranged, according to algorithms employed by Canadian researchers.

Artificial intelligence has allowed scientists to make significant progress in cracking a mysterious ancient text, the meaning of which has eluded scholars for centuries.

Dated to the 15th century, the Voynich manuscript is a hand-written text in an unknown script, accompanied by pictures of plants, astronomical observations and nude figures.

Since its discovery in the 19th century, many historians and cryptographers have attempted to unravel its meaning - including code breakers during the Second World War - but none have been successful.

While some have written the Voynich manuscript off as a hoax, use of modern techniques has previously suggested the presence of “a genuine message” inside the book.