The Voynich manuscript is an old, handwritten book. Its pages date from the early 1400s. It has 240 pages, with strange writing and pictures of people, plants and stars. Experts have tried to understand its writing for more than 100 years. They still cannot read it. A new study suggests that its pages may be in the wrong order.
Researchers Lisa Fagin Davis and Colin Layfield studied the book. Davis noticed changes in the handwriting. Some pictures also start on one page and continue much later in the book. The researchers think the book began as separate folded sheets. Someone may have joined these sheets together incorrectly. Layfield used a computer method to compare patterns in the writing. Some pages showed similar patterns, but others were very different. These results support their idea.
The study does not explain what the writing means. However, it could change how experts study the book. The researchers also want to compare water marks on its pages. The shapes of these marks may help them find the right page order.
