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The manuscript itself contains over 170,000 characters, including 35,000 words, largely consisting of unique terms that have never been matched to known languages. There are telltale signs of linguistic structure, bolstering the belief that the writing follows patterns inherent to real languages, albeit one that has not been recognized or understood by contemporary scholars.
When Lisa Davis, then a 23-year-old Ph.D. student, first encountered the Voynich Manuscript while working at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 1989, she found herself inspired by its mystery. Tasked with responding to inquiries about the work, Davis became deeply entwined in the deciphering quest, sparking a lifelong fascination with the manuscript.