Syrian chemist painstakingly restores ancient Greek texts piece by piece

A former chemist in Syria is using her expertise to restore ancient Greek Orthodox texts.

Rajaa Rajha has developed a hyper-pure paper, which is used to painstakingly add tiny pieces to manuscripts, mixing light and dark papers to get a perfect colour match.

She has been restoring ancient texts since 2006 but was forced to discontinue her work after a civil war broke out in her home country.

Rajha’s work helps religious researchers who study Greek Orthodox history to find new information unavailable in contemporary books.