John-Mark Philo of the University of East Anglia was looking for manuscript translations of Tacitus, the well-known Roman historian, when he found what he says is such a translation written by Queen Elizabeth herself. Philo's evidence is twofold: The queen was the only known translator of Tacitus at that time, and the manuscript was of the same paper stock and features some of the hallmark's of the queen's writing.

The manuscript shows two sets of handwriting. The predominant one is eminently readable and would no doubt have been done by a royal secretary, Philo said. However, the corrections match other writings known to have been done by the queen. In addition, three watermarks on the manuscript match those found on other papers used for the queen's personal correspondence and translations.

Elizabeth, who ruled from 1558 to 1603, was a known classical historian who enjoyed translating as well as reading. As the daughter of King Henry VIII, she would have been well educated indeed.

Philo found the 42-page manuscript, a translation of the Annales, at the Lambeth Palace Library, where it had been since the 17th Century.