Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript dates from the early 15th century. 240 pages of vellum (not counting how many of them are missing, as that number is unknown) of information on plants and their herbal uses would not normally be all that surprising. However, the fact that none of the plants described or drawn in the Manuscript have ever been known on this planet is unusual indeed.

Unusual Language
Deepening the mystery, the language is unique. Not simply rare, as many of the forgotten languages (or dead languages), but completely unique. The Voynich Manuscript is the only document that contains the script and language used.

The language is complex, especially for the period of time when it was believed to have been written. It has been studied by some of the brightest and most talented cryptographers in many countries, but the Manuscript in its entirety has defeated all challengers.

The manuscript contains over 170,000 different characters, which are organized into "words" that follow neither English not Latin patterns. Comparison to Greek, French, and other European languages has yielded similar failures.

Verification Attempts
In 2009, the vellum that the Voynich Manuscript was written on was verified by C14 dating to within 95% certainty to date between 1404 and 1438. The inks used to add the strange letters and even stranger illustrations was soon confirmed as having been added only a short time afterwards. The inks and paints used in the creation of the manuscript are of the style for that period.

There have been many suggestions on the origins of the Manuscript, none of which have been able to be proven or disproven. Everything from channeling outside entities, sketches of letter-like shapes made while in a fugue state, and even accusations of outright fraud have been theorized, but none of the theories have managed to solve the mystery behind the Voynich Manuscript.