The dating of leather bindings using ER-FTIR spectroscopy and machine learning
P Layton, H Mahgoub, V Nicoletti, S Deichstetter, M Theisen, S Svoljsak, J Malešič, B Spangl, M Haltrich, M Strlič, K Sterflinger, J Tintner-Olifiers · 2026
Read The dating of leather bindings using ER-FTIR spectroscopy and machine learning by P Layton, H Mahgoub, V Nicoletti, S Deichstetter, M Theisen, S Svoljsak, J Malešič, B Spangl, M Haltrich, M Strlič, K Sterflinger, J Tintner-Olifiers (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13542212.txt.
Description
P Layton and colleagues develop a dating tool in 2026. The tool dates leather book bindings without harming them. It reads chemical decay with reflected infrared light. Medieval manuscripts stay intact under this method. Expert dating by handwriting is slow and scarce. A fast scientific complement would help libraries.
The team worked with codicologists and conservators. They linked age-related chemical changes to a decay clock. External reflectance spectroscopy reads that clock. The method is non-invasive and quick to interpret. Its estimated uncertainty is about sixty-six years. Such a tool could date large collections at scale. It could also reveal the skills of historical binders.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | P Layton, H Mahgoub, V Nicoletti, S Deichstetter, M Theisen, S Svoljsak, J Malešič, B Spangl, M Haltrich, M Strlič, K Sterflinger, J Tintner-Olifiers |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 32725 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |