Captain’s Blog: July 2nd, 2022
DATA:
Location: Below Angkor Wat Cambodia
Ocean Currents/Gyre: Straight of Malacca into Singapore
Ethnobotany: leaves depict summer monsoon winds
Catalan Atlas: There is an inscription in this region saying “In the sea of the Indies there are seven thousand five hundred and forty-eight islands whose wonders of gold, silver, spices and precious stones we cannot discuss here.”
Folio 41r is severely damaged, due to this the translation is almost impossible. The cipher is so fragile that guessing the character leads to unwise translations. It appears that they used the other side of the velum so much that this side was facing a lot of surfaces and was rubbing away at the characters by moisture. Visible damage shows moss damage, possible shrinking of page, watermarks in the upper right side causing text erosion.
Though with the math and map on the page we can determine it’s location and direction. South China Sea from Singapore heading towards Cambodia.
Partial translation: Holy Arc, long narrow depressions in between waves, the flaw (…) going (…) (…) (…) the way annually (…) secant arc. secant arc confirmed (…) North (…) secant arc gets the grid, ventures having been deceived (…) you will stop (…) east of set up. Easier (…) error says to also. The information residual (…) remove grids, the barrier. The royal (sail) detach, it pulls to pieces by joining having been deceived. Fasten together soundings.
Go to Folio 41v
Tucker STEM Team 