AI Helps Scientists Fully Read Ancient Herculaneum Scroll for First Time

A groundbreaking achievement marks a significant step toward deciphering hundreds of ancient manuscripts discovered in Herculaneum, a Roman city destroyed along with Pompeii during the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The Vesuvius Challenge initiative, which promotes the use of modern technologies to read charred papyri, has announced it will release all data, code, and digital models of the scrolls online to speed up research.

Organizers also announced a $1 million prize for the first person or team to fully read another scroll. "Just a year ago, it would have been madness to think that an entire scroll could be read completely non-invasively, with hundreds of columns of text," said Brent Seales, a computer science professor at the University of Kentucky and a project co-founder, during a conference broadcast from Naples. "Today, we have shown that it is possible. I believe we will read every scroll in this collection."

Scientists used high-resolution scans and computational methods to "virtually unroll" the brittle, carbonized scrolls, which cannot be physically opened without risking destruction. These techniques detect traces of ink on the papyrus layers. To date, about 45 scrolls and fragments have been scanned, with over 600 unopened manuscripts remaining. A significant portion of the villa where they were discovered has yet to be explored, increasing the likelihood of finding more papyri.

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Just a year ago, it would have been madness to think that an entire scroll could be read completely non-invasively, with hundreds of columns of text. Today, we have shown that it is possible. I believe we will read every scroll in this collection.

The project has already awarded $1.8 million in prizes for progress in deciphering texts from Herculaneum. Tech entrepreneur and project co-founder Nat Friedman believes the latest advancements pave the way for much faster progress. "We believe our algorithms can still be significantly improved. We also think that the current ink-detection methods have enormous development potential," he said, encouraging more computer scientists to join the project.

Among the materials presented was 70 columns of text from "On Vices, Book I," attributed to the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus. Researchers also deciphered approximately 1.5 meters of text, comprising 20 columns, from another papyrus dated between 200-300 BCE. This represents the oldest virtually unrolled Herculaneum scroll discovered so far, addressing topics of ethics, art, and human behavior. Federica Nicolardi, the lead papyrologist for the Vesuvius Challenge, emphasized the revolutionary nature of these new research methods, noting that previous physical unrolling techniques inevitably damaged the artifacts.

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We believe our algorithms can still be significantly improved. We also think that the current ink-detection methods have enormous development potential.