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Uncovering new Merlin

Using a combination of new imaging techniques, a new chapter in Merlin’s story has been uncovered.

The manuscript had survived the centuries after being recycled and repurposed in the 1500s as the cover for a property record from Huntingfield Manor in Suffolk, owned by the Vanneck family of Heveningham. 

It meant the remarkable discovery was folded, torn, and even stitched into the binding of the book – making it almost impossible for Cambridge experts to access it, read it, or confirm its origins.

What followed the discovery has been a ground-breaking collaborative project, showcasing the work of the University Library’s Cultural Heritage Imaging Laboratory (CHIL) and combining historical scholarship with cutting-edge digital techniques, to unlock the manuscript’s long-held secrets – without damaging the unique document.

PJH Studios artwork, Portrait of a sun

PJH Studios

Movies, music, books, whiskey, and culture in a blog blender

  • Uncovering new Merlin

    Using a combination of new imaging techniques, a new chapter in Merlin’s story has been uncovered. The manuscript had survived the centuries after being recycled and repurposed in the 1500s as the cover for a property record from Huntingfield Manor in Suffolk, owned by the Vanneck family of Heveningham.  It meant the remarkable discovery was…

  • Octogenarians in the club

    A Brussels program to fight loneliness among senior citizens. Among the revelers in crop tops, short skirts and high heels, one group stood out: gray-haired retirement-home residents, many in their 80s or 90s. The men wore suits with pocket handkerchiefs, and the women, in mascara and red lipstick, wore chunky necklaces and tops with sequins.…

  • The use of Fortunate Son

    Like Born on the Fourth of July, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son is up there with most misunderstood songs of all time. Why or how Fortunate Son, about a draft dodger, ended up on Trump’s parade playlist is a new height for irony.

  • The Great Egg Heist

    It’s got the makings of a screwball caper, how a freight truck with 280,000 eggs were stolen. …shipment headed from Maryland to Florida: 280,000 brown eggs, sizes large and extra large. They belonged to Cal-Maine Foods, which boasts being “number one in the pecking order” of egg supply. About 1 of every 5 eggs sold…

  • Halt and Catch Fire syllabus

    Halt and Catch Fire was four seasons of TV perfection, telling a slightly alternate history of late 80s and 90s tech industry. Ashley Blewer created a supplemental website with readings, episode summaries, and discussion questions.

  • Maybe the whales are communicating with us

    If the movie Arrival suggests anything, it’s that communication with other species will have a different language. Whales may be communicating with humans. Researchers at the SETI Institute and UC Davis have documented a striking new behavior in humpback whales. These whales, some weighing over 30 tons, are seen producing nearly perfect rings of bubbles…

  • The Atomic Lucy

    My friend Gabrielle is a playwright, and she submitted an audio story, The Atomic Lucy, to the Atlanta Fringe Festival using some of my music as the soundtrack,

  • Dancers in Penn Station

    The lower level of Penn Station is perfect for dancing and serving as a makeshift dance studio. Penn Station, the transit hub for hurrying commuters and Amtrak riders, has a side gig. Its wide, lower level corridor — specifically the passageway leading to the Moynihan Train Hall from Track 7 to Track 16 of the…

  • AI can’t have my em dash

    A supposed tell that something was written with AI is the use of the em dash—signifying a pause for a related thought. But really, it’s proof of what AI was trained on.

  • US drug deaths down

    A promising trend: drug deaths are declining. Why? Theories include the wider distribution of Narcan, or naloxone; a trend of weaker, less deadly fentanyl being sold by dealers; more readily available addiction healthcare; and also the loss of so many vulnerable young people who have already died. Many researchers believe another key factor may be…