Pallencia Codex
Description: 48 vellum pages bound in black leather and wood. Each page (one-sided) shows a naked human form, drawn in rather good style, with one of a set of intricate multi-colored patterns (24 in all) superimposed on top. Interestingly, each pattern is seen twice; once for a male figure, and again for a female one. There is no text, but suggestive, half-meaningful patterns appear if a page is viewed under an ultraviolet light. Unlabeled, and tentatively dated as being from the 13th century AD, but the book is in almost unbelievably good condition to be that old.
The Pallencia Codex would be considered a fake, if only it hadn’t happened to have been discovered last year in an archeological dig run by a team of unquestioned professionalism and sterling reputation. Still, it’s in far too good shape to have been buried for over eight centuries. The leather even smells kind of new.