The Voynich Manuscript, a book seemingly written in an "alien" language, has stumped scientists and historians for decades.
But at least now they have a date.
The book, which was found by a book dealer in an old chest outside of Rome in 1912, was carbon-dated by a team of scientists from the University of Arizona, according to an UA press release.
Carbon-14 dating suggests the book was created between 1404 and 1438, reports Fox News.
The team, led by Greg Hodgins of the University's department of physics, dated the book back to the early 15th century. The manuscript is written on animal skin (which allowed it to be dated), and now outdates the Gutenberg Bible by 25 years.
This makes the book a whole century older than was previously thought, according to the university. The book itself is fascinating.
From the University of Arizona:
This tome makes the "DaVinci Code" look downright lackluster: Rows of text scrawled on visibly aged parchment, flowing around intricately drawn illustrations depicting plants, astronomical charts and human figures bathing in - perhaps - the fountain of youth. At first glance, the "Voynich manuscript" appears to be not unlike any other antique work of writing and drawing.
The book is currently owned by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University, and has intrigued researchers for decades. No one has been able to decipher the language used, though some characters resemble latin.