'Archimedes Palimpsest' lies beneath medieval prayer book [audio 6min]

Why would anyone pay $2 million for a tattered book of Christian prayers from AD 1200? The anonymous philanthropist who coughed up the sum in 1998 wasn't lured by the holy writings. He was after the faint ink beneath -- mathematical theorems and diagrams from the Greek scholar Archimedes, who lived more than 2,000 years ago. It's the oldest known copy of his work, but the writings were barely legible. But now, a new restoration technique may make it possible to recover all of Archimedes' original text. The prayer book is known as the "Archimedes Palimpsest" -- a palimpsest is a document with hidden writing -- and it resides at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore ~Visit website for extended report by David Kestenbaum, plus photos and technical details.