Ancient Greek text identified in charred Herculaneum scroll using AI and X-rays

A scroll carbonised in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago has been identified as a philosophical work by the Greek Epicurean thinker Philodemus, the Guardian has reported.

Researchers used X-ray scans and AI to virtually “unwrap” the scroll, revealing the title “On Vices,” part of a multi-volume series, and spotting ink traces including the word “disgust.” The scroll, PHerc. 172, housed at Oxford’s Bodleian Library, is the first in which text was visible using only scan data.

The scroll is among hundreds retrieved from the remains of a lavish villa at Herculaneum, which, along with Pompeii, was one of several Roman towns that were destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. 

The breakthrough builds on the Vesuvius Challenge, a competition launched in 2023 to decode the hundreds of carbonized scrolls from a Roman villa believed to belong to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. One team recently earned $60,000 for identifying the title and author.

This is all “new to us,” said Dr Michael McOsker of University College London. “The pace is ramping up very quickly.”

Philodemus of Gadara studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before moving to Rome and then to Herculaneum. He was once known chiefly for his poetry preserved in the Greek Anthology, but since the 18th century, many writings of his have been discovered among the charred papyrus rolls at the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum.

Source: ekathimerini.com