Just how smart was Archimedes?

A terrific piece by Mary Carole McCauley in the Baltimore Sun, here. For those with a love of both archeology and mathematics.

Money quote:

Thus began a search for buried treasure — in this case, the lost writings of Archimedes of Syracuse, a famed Greek mathematician and inventor who lived in the third century B.C.
Noel and his boss, museum director Gary Vikan, found a 174-page book made of cured goatskin that was ugly beyond belief. The sheaves were singed around the edges, the text and pages were defaced by water stains, and mold had eaten away entire sections.