From Genomes to Algorithms: Neural Network Applications for Palimpsest Detection in Medieval Manuscripts
Biocodicology, the study of biological information preserved in manuscripts, offers new opportunities to examine parchment as both a textual and biological artefact. This study applies non-destructive sampling to isolate and sequence mitochondrial genomes (mtGenomes) from a 14th-century manuscript, Ms. Codex 1629, which contains both single-use and palimpsested folios. We sought to evaluate whether palimpsest preparation, including chemical washing, compromised DNA integrity and whether computational methods could aid in identifying reused parchment. DNA sequencing revealed that both single-use and palimpsested parchments retained sufficient mtGenomes for analysis, with no significant differences in genome coverage or depth. To assess the potential of computational biology in manuscript studies, we implemented machine learning classifiers, including logistic regression and neural networks, to distinguish palimpsests from single-use folios. Models achieved high precision but exhibited reduced recall for the minority palimpsest class, reflecting dataset imbalance. While additional ancient mtGenome samples from palimpsest are required and further testing is needed, this study demonstrates how integrating molecular biology and neural networks highlights new approaches for palimpsest detection and underscores the evolving role of data science in biocodicology.