RESEARCHERS at Oxford's Bodleian Libraries have discovered the earliest recorded symbol for zero is centuries older than previously thought. 

The origin of the symbol zero has long been one of the world's greatest mathematical mysteries.

Yesterday, new carbon dating research commissioned by the Bodleian Libraries into the ancient Indian Bakhshali manuscript revealed it to be hundreds of years older than initially thought - making it the world’s oldest recorded origin of the zero symbol that we use today.

Marcus du Sautoy, professor of mathematics at Oxford University, said: "Today we take it for granted that the concept of zero is used across the globe and is a key building block of the digital world.

"But the creation of zero as a number in its own right, which evolved from the placeholder dot symbol found in the Bakhshali manuscript, was one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of mathematics.

"We now know that it was as early as the 3rd century that mathematicians in India planted the seed of the idea that would later become so fundamental to the modern world. The findings show how vibrant mathematics have been in the Indian sub-continent for centuries."

The zero symbol that we use today evolved from a dot that was used in ancient India and can be seen throughout the Bakhshali manuscript.

The dot was originally used as a 'placeholder', meaning it was used to indicate orders of magnitude in a number system – for example, denoting 10s, 100s and 1000s.