AI Helps Scientists Decipher Papyrus Scroll Burnt in Vesuvius Eruption
Researchers used high-resolution X-rays and machine learning to read the sealed scroll, uncovering a 2nd-century BC ethics treatise and new names.
- Researchers deciphered an entire ancient scroll dubbed 1667 from Herculaneum this month, using high-resolution X-rays and machine learning to read carbonized text without physically unrolling the fragile papyrus.
- Preserved under volcanic ash after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79, the scroll belonged to a library of carbonized manuscripts that remained sealed in a Villa for Centuries due to extreme fragility.
- Recovered text from the 8cm surviving portion reveals a philosophical treatise on ethics, naming Aristocreon, a nephew and disciple of Stoic philosopher Chrysippus, with language reflecting Stoic doctrine.
- Seales noted that Today, Researchers are hearing voices silent for 2,000 years, a breakthrough enabled by the Vesuvius Challenge, which incentivized Contestants to use machine learning to decode ancient manuscripts.
- With one manuscript deciphered, the Vesuvius Challenge continues as Hundreds of scrolls remain sealed, while this effort also led to identifying a new book by Epicurean philosopher Philodemus.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Researchers Utilize AI to Translate 2,000-Year-Old Carbonized Scrolls from Herculaneum
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, among the objects and remains preserved for the next two millennia were a collection of carbonized scrolls from a residence in Herculaneum known as the Villa of the Papyri. This ancient Greco-Roman library was situated near Pompeii, just 11 miles from the base of Mount Vesuvius. These ancient scrolls are too fragile to unfurl, stymieing scholars’ attempts over the past few centuries to complete translations …
For the first time, researchers have been able to read an ancient papyrus completely calcined without touching it or physically unfolding it. This technological prowess has revealed 1.50 meters of ancient Greek texts, from a library close to Pompeii destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius about 2,000 years ago. Anicet Mbida's explanations in "Hello! Morning TF1". - A true technological prowess... A calcined papyrus of Pompeii deciphered thanks to …
For the first time, they have virtually unrolled and read a charred papyrus from Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
For almost 2000 years, Herculano's charred library kept secret the contents of the scrolls that survived the eruption of Vesuvius, but only because they became too fragile to open them up. Reading one amounted to destroying it. Hundreds of scrolls remained sealed, their content preserved but inaccessible. Now, thanks to Artificial Intelligence, the Vesuvius Challenge project has made a historic breakthrough in the recovery of manuscripts, reveal…
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