Scientists Read 4,000-Year-Old Letter Without Opening It Using Portable X-Ray Device

Researchers from DESY and the University of Hamburg created a portable X-ray device called ENCI that virtually opens sealed Assyrian and Babylonian clay envelopes without damage. Initial scans at the Louvre and Ankara Museum allowed reading a letter from a wife to merchant Ennum-Ashur and found a 4,000-year-old barley grain inside one envelope.

• ENCI uses X-rays with 2-mm copper filter and virtual unwrapping software
• Read letter from Anna-anna to merchant husband about debt collection from Laqēpum
• 4,000-year-old barley grain found inside one envelope
• Device disassembles and transports between museums worldwide