An Italian computer engineer has solved the mystery of the strange handwritten notes found in the margins of a 16th century copy of Homer’s “Odyssey”.

The handwritten notations were a combination of French and an unknown language, as revealed by Daniele Metilli, a computer engineer who is studying digital humanities at the University of Pisa. This system of shorthand was invented by Jean Coulon de Thévénot in the late 18th century.

As for the meaning of the annotations, they’re mostly French translations and abbreviations of phrases from the Greek text of “Odyssey”.

Mettini won a $1,000 prize for being the first to correctly crack the code, after spending many weeks studying the strange scribblings.

See here the mysterious notes.