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Evidence Library / Early Manuscripts

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The Sana'a Palimpsest

A Qur'anic manuscript with an earlier, partially erased layer of text (Sana'a I) beneath the standard text, radiocarbon-dated among the oldest surviving Qur'anic manuscripts.

Fragment of the Sana'a palimpsest showing overlapping upper and lower Qur'anic text
A Sana'a I fragment showing the erased lower text bleeding through beneath the standard upper text. (Gerd R. Puin / Wikimedia Commons (public domain))

A full entry on the Sana'a palimpsest's radiocarbon dating, its lower text's variant readings, and what it does and does not imply about the early transmission of the Qur'anic text is in progress.