Lost treasure hidden for 1000+ years in Roman library found

A 7th-century relic has just been discovered at the National Central Library of Rome, delighting the literary circles.

Scholars from Trinity College Dublin have discovered a poem composed by a Northumbrian cattle herder.

The manuscript, which had lain hidden for centuries, is known as 'Cademon's Hymn' and is widely believed to be the earliest surviving poem in English.

Elisabetta Magnanti, who uncovered the historic paper with Marl Faulkner, tells the Guardian, “When we saw it we looked at each other, and I said, ‘No one knows about this.'"

“To make sure I wasn’t dreaming, I double-checked the catalogues, and there was no mention of it. It was a huge surprise, a very good one.”

Back to the legendary poem, Venerable Bede, the father of English history, was the first to record it.

According to the monk, an illiterate cattle herder from Whitby had a divine dream that inspired him to write a poem praising God for creating the world.

Meanwhile, the latest discovery made the document the third-oldest known copy after other copies of the poem held at Cambridge and St Petersburg; however, they are mainly in Latin.