Palimpsest

A palimpsest refers to a manuscript, usually made of parchment, that was reused by removing an earlier text and writing a new one over it. This practice was common when writing materials were scarce or costly. Although the original writing was intentionally erased, it often survives faintly beneath the surface. Modern study can sometimes recover these earlier layers, revealing texts that would otherwise be lost. Palimpsests preserve multiple stages of textual transmission within a single physical object, making them valuable for understanding how writings were reused, altered, and preserved over time.