Leaves From Ely Discovered In 16th Century Bible

The Holy Bible has sparked many journeys of discovery, but none quite like the one undertaken this year after three leaves believed to be from the Ely area were found inside a 470-year-old Anglican bible held in the library of the University of Western Australia. One of the earliest printed editions of the bible in English, known as the 'Great Bible', UWA's copy is a second edition, printed in April 1540 and purchased by the University from a London antiquarian bookseller in 1977 for £350.

The leaves were discovered by librarian Susana Melo de Howard when she was returning the Great Bible to its place in a temperature and humidity-controlled room after examination by a reader. It was the first time that the book had been handled for more than 20 years. "I was beside myself with distress because we take so much care - the book is enormous and very beautiful," said Ms Howard. "We know the bible comes from the library of the monastery of Ely Cathedral in England, so I knew these were pre-industrial revolution leaves."

Excited by the thought that a monk at Ely Cathedral could have used the leaves to mark the text, Ms Howard started a chain of scientific detective work that included carbon dating, stable isotope testing and a new technique known as "leaf extraction and analysis framework graphical user interface". The experts recruited to help discover the origin of the leaves have included Dr Pauline Grierson of the School of Plant Biology, Professor John Dodson of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Dr Fraser Mitchell of Trinity College Dublin and Professor Steve Hopper at Kew Gardens.

"We are so lucky to have the expertise, the equipment and the generosity of these scientists through our university network," said Ms Howard. "Without them this mystery would never have been solved."

One of the leaves was ground up for tests and through carbon dating it was found that it was almost as old as the Bible itself. The leaves have now been dated to about 1560 and have been identified as coming from a Wych elm, a variety of tree almost wiped out in the UK by elm disease in the past century but one that grew plentifully in England in the past. Scientists have also concluded that the leaves were from a mildly polluted environment in Elizabethan England, with isotope tests finding high levels of nitrogen, which suggested a wetlands or farm environment, consistent with the idea that the leaves came from Ely.

Neutron analysis uncovered traces of arsenic, mercury and chromium, but the low amounts of selenium indicated that the leaves dated from before the English used coal for heat. It also found lead, probably from the cathedral roof, and silver and gold, either from Ely Cathedral or from the ink and decoration of the Bible.

On first discovering the leaves, Ms Howard had formed an instinctive opinion about where they were from. "I could see a vision: a monk with a candlestick in the Ely monastery reading the Bible. I could feel it," she said. Now that science has backed up her instincts, she feels vindicated. "Perhaps my fantasy about the monk was not that far out."