GabyThis scroll is one of hundreds found in the library of an ancient Roman villa in Herculaneum, a city on the western coast of Italy that, along with Pompeii, was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius about 2,000 years ago.
During excavations of a luxurious villa that likely belonged to Julius Caesar‘s father-in-law, archaeologists found a large collection of scrolls. However, the material was charred, so researchers were unable to read the texts. When the researchers tried to unroll the scrolls, they crumbled and turned to dust.
The papyrus, the content of which was recently reconstructed using cutting-edge technology, is one of three scrolls from Herculaneum preserved in the Bodleian Library (Oxford). Researchers used artificial intelligence and X-ray scanning to virtually unfurl the scroll on a computer. Several columns of text were revealed, which scholars from Oxford began to read. One ancient Greek word — διατροπή — appears several times; it means “disgust,” The Guardian reported.
The scroll, believed to have been written by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, discusses, among other things, sources of pleasure — from music to food. Scholars say they’ll share more details about the document later.
How did the breakthrough happen?
In 2023, entrepreneurs Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross and computer scientist Dr. Brent Seales announced the Vesuvius Challenge to “decrypt” the Herculaneum scrolls using 3D X-ray software. Last year, the main prize of $700,000 was won by a team of three students: Youssef Nader from Germany, Luke Faritor from the USA, and Julian Schilliger from Switzerland.
Armed with 3D X-ray images of the scrolls (the charred documents are too fragile to be moved), the researchers developed software to virtually unroll the papyrus. They then used artificial intelligence to detect ink on the papyrus fibers and ultimately read excerpts of the ancient text.
“We are thrilled to have successfully acquired the image of this scroll from the Bodleian Library,” said Dr. Brent Seales.
Professor Richard Ovenden, director of the Bodleian Library, said, “This is an extraordinary moment, when librarians, information specialists, and classical scholars collaborate to see the invisible. Advances in visualization and artificial intelligence let us look inside scrolls that have been unreadable for nearly 2,000 years.”
