A Reconstruction Study of an Old Uyghur, Parthian, and Middle Persian Manuscript

Abstract

Many researchers have studied the considerably diverse contents and an assortment of artifacts from the region of Turfan since they had been introduced to the world with the discoveries at the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, most of the manuscripts in this archive of unique importance are fragmentary. Despite this being a severe limitation for field studies, various methods have been developed to bring the fragments together in the best possible way. Most of the manuscripts in this rich corpus, especially the Manichaean texts, are fragmentary, so much so that some pieces are only the size of a small coin. Putting all these small pieces together is an essential skill that requires much attention. Undoubtedly, the first studies in the early 1900s did a very good job of unearthing the materials and bringing together the fragments very well. On the other hand, although the early studies were highly meticulous and accurate, they were not without fault. The current study emphasizes the importance of finding the closest arrangement and format to the original work by bringing entire manuscripts together as well as the physical properties of the materials and writing styles as the elements that should be considered when classifying fragments as belonging to the same manuscript. This study also discusses the importance of codicology studies for reconstruction when classifying the fragments that belong to the examined manuscript by examining added fragments that do not belong to the manuscript and the errors that occur when combining them into a page.