Systems Analysis of the Voynich Rosette Map: A P&ID Interpretation

The "Rosette Map" (folio 86v) of the 15th-century Voynich Manuscript has traditionally been interpreted through cosmological or geographical frameworks. This paper presents a novel engineering perspective, re-evaluating the diagram as a primitive form of Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID). By applying topological extraction methods to the central nine-rosette structure, we isolate the node-edge relationships from the artistic illustrations. The resulting skeleton reveals a coherent "Hub-and-Spoke" architecture, characteristic of closed-loop control systems found in chemical processing. Using ISO 10628 standard symbols to translate the visual metaphors, the diagram demonstrates functional logic consistent with reactor circulation, phase separation, and thermal exchange loops. This analysis suggests that the Rosette Map is not a static representation of a location, but a dynamic system schematic—a "circuit diagram" of pre-modern technology—encoded to preserve proprietary process knowledge.