A Binghamton University alumnus discovered ancient medieval manuscripts hidden in the bindings of books in the University Libraries’ collection.

Zack Ben-Ezra, ‘22, a current first-year law student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, uncovered scrap pieces of paper in two incunabula during his independent study as an undergraduate student at BU — where he majored in history. Incunabula are early European books that were printed from around 1450 to 1501. Ben-Ezra discovered these scraps in the gutter, or the seam down the center of a book, of the first incunabulum he examined.

The research will be uploaded to the Material Evidence in Incunabula database (MEI) to track and catalog early European literature, as experts from the Rochester Institute of Technology analyzed the medieval manuscripts using multispectral imaging.

Ben-Ezra made this discovery during his independent study under the guidance of Bridget Whearty, an assistant professor of English and medieval studies at BU, and Jeremy Dibbell, a Special Collections librarian at the University. His inspiration to begin his independent study came after taking classes with Whearty.

“After taking two classes with Professor Bridget Whearty in the fall and spring of 2020-2021 about the history of medieval manuscripts and early print books, I decided that I wanted to continue studying the topic, but on the hands-on level,” Ben-Ezra wrote in an email. “I approached Professor Whearty with the idea of an independent study the following semester, and she was open to it. From there, she looped in Dibbell from Special Collections in the library, and we arrived at the idea to study and catalog the [University’s] incunabula.”

Dibbell praised Ben-Ezra’s achievements and said his work continues to help history majors at BU. Ben-Ezra’s excavation into the libraries’ centuries-old volumes is critical to understanding how to think about early print texts, according to Dibbell.

“We were delighted that [Ben-Ezra]’s careful examination of these volumes brought so many fascinating elements of their stories to light,” Dibbell wrote in an email. “These aspects of the books will be very useful as teaching points going forward, and I have already told several visiting class sessions about [Ben-Ezra’s]’s project and what it revealed about these volumes that we had not previously known.”

Cate Archibald, an undeclared freshman, said she believes that the discovery is important for future historical research.

“I believe that discoveries like this are essential to understanding how people interacted in the past,” Archibald wrote in an email. “[Ben-Ezra] finding these unidentified medieval manuscripts provides historians with a huge stepping stone toward appreciating encounters of the past.”

The Special Collections at BU Libraries are a resource accessible to all students, according to Dibbell, and contain early historical materials that encourage research and independent research studies.

Sam Johnson, an undeclared sophomore, said they were impressed that the discovery was made at BU.

“I actually find this really cool especially after two years of [COVID-19],” Johnson said. “This is a really hands-on find. For history majors, this is really important because I don’t think many other schools have had medieval manuscripts found and we have such close access to them.”

With Ben-Ezra beginning his first semester of law school this fall, he offered advice to other undergraduate students majoring in history at BU, highlighting the significance of learning outside the classroom.

“Get involved in something that interests you,” Ben-Ezra wrote. “There are so many amazing opportunities that the University has to offer, and the most memorable and valuable lessons you learn may just be outside of the conventional classroom. Second, take advantage of every moment you have in college, especially those with friends. [BU] is a special place with special people — savor every moment.”