Letterlock: From Spiral Seals to Virtual Unfolding
About this episode
Dive into the ancient art of letterlocking—the craft of folding a letter into its own secure envelope. We trace spiral locks, self-destruct mechanisms, and the long arc from Mesopotamian seals to modern physical information security. Then see how X-ray microtomography lets researchers virtually unfold 300-year-old letters from the Brienne Collection without breaking seals, including Mary, Queen of Scots' last letter. It’s a fusion of old-world craft and cutting-edge science.
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