Great, let’s break this into a quick project plan. Milestone 1 – Gather & Prep (2 days): • Collect the manuscript scans, any previous transcriptions, and reference texts. • Set up a shared drive and a simple spreadsheet for notes. Milestone 2 – Preliminary Analysis (3 days): • Linguist scans for anomalies, unusual letters, or repetitive patterns. • IT checks for hidden metadata or encoded strings in the file. Milestone 3 – Tool Selection (1 day): • Decide on software (Python scripts, frequency analysis tools, OCR if needed). • Assign the lead developer to set up the environment. Milestone 4 – Decoding Work (5 days): • Run frequency analysis to spot cipher types. • Test decryption hypotheses (Caesar, Vigenère, transposition). • Log each attempt in the spreadsheet. Milestone 5 – Verification & Review (2 days): • Cross‑check decoded text against known historical facts. • Peer‑review by another linguist for sanity. Milestone 6 – Final Report (1 day): • Compile findings, methodology, and any remaining questions. • Create a short slide deck for stakeholders. Total time: about 14 days, assuming a small team with clear roles. I’ll draft the task list in the shared doc and assign owners. Let me know if you want any tweaks.

Good call on the palimpsest check—let’s slot that in right after Milestone 1. Add a sub‑task: “Run spectral imaging or IR scan to detect underlying text.” That way we won’t waste time on the wrong tool. Also tweak the spreadsheet: add a “Line #” column for the original manuscript so we can trace back every finding. All set?

Alright, I’ll kick off the spectral scan today and have the spreadsheet ready for line numbers by end of the day. I’ll assign the scanning to Mark and the spreadsheet to Lisa. Once we have those results, we’ll move into the analysis phase. Keep me posted on any issues that pop up.