This scroll is one of hundreds discovered in the library of an ancient Roman villa in Herculaneum, a city on Italy’s western coast that, along with Pompeii, was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago.
During excavations at the luxurious villa, believed to have belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law, archaeologists uncovered a large collection of scrolls. However, the material was charred, making it impossible for scholars to read the texts. When researchers attempted to unroll the scrolls, they crumbled to dust.
The papyrus, the content of which has recently been reconstructed using cutting-edge technology, is one of three scrolls from Herculaneum housed in the Bodleian Library (Oxford). Using artificial intelligence and X-ray scanning, the scroll was virtually unrolled on a computer. Several columns of text were revealed, which scholars from Oxford began to read. One ancient Greek word—διατροπή—appears twice across several columns; it translates to “disgust,” as reported by The Guardian.
The scroll, believed to have been written by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, discusses sources of pleasure, ranging from music to food. More details about the document’s content will be shared by researchers in the future.
How Was the Breakthrough Achieved?
In 2023, entrepreneurs Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and computer scientist Brent Seales announced the Vesuvius Challenge, aimed at “deciphering the Herculaneum scrolls using 3D X-ray software.” Last year, the grand prize of $700,000 was awarded to a team of three students: Youssef Nader from Germany, Luke Faritor from the U.S., and Julian Schilliger from Switzerland.
Equipped with 3D X-ray images of the scrolls (the charred documents are too fragile to be physically handled), the winners developed software to virtually unroll the papyrus. They then employed artificial intelligence to detect ink on the fibers of the papyrus, ultimately allowing them to read fragments of the ancient text.
“We are thrilled to have successfully obtained an image of this scroll from the Bodleian Library,” said Dr. Brent Seales.
Professor Richard Ovenden, director of the Bodleian Library, noted, “This is an incredible moment in history, where librarians, computer scientists, and classical researchers are collaborating to see the unseen. The remarkable advancements achieved in visualization and artificial intelligence allow us to peer inside scrolls that have been unreadable for nearly 2,000 years.”