AI 'unlocks' Vesuvius' burnt library after 2,000 years

A "digital miracle" is how researchers are describing the groundbreaking use of artificial intelligence to decipher a 2,000-year-old papyrus scroll, which had been carbonized by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The scroll, discovered in the 18th century in the Roman city of Herculaneum, contained hundreds of papyri that were too fragile to unroll.

For centuries, scientists faced a dilemma: wait for technological advancements or risk destroying the precious texts forever. However, recent progress in imaging techniques and AI has offered a third path. The international Vesuvius Challenge competition incentivized this scientific endeavor, offering substantial cash prizes for deciphering the scrolls.

In 2023, a student won $40,000 for deciphering the word "purple" from a sealed papyrus. Subsequently, other teams read 2,000 Greek characters, earning a $700,000 prize, and revealed the title of another papyrus for $60,000.

Now, scientists have successfully recovered the complete text of a scroll, approximately 1.5 meters long, containing 20 columns of ancient Greek philosophical reflections. This achievement makes the work accessible for the first time in nearly two millennia. Professor Brent Seales of the University of Kentucky stated, "The technology looks like magic, but it is not. It is the means to a higher purpose: restoring the lost voices of the ancient world."

The papyrus, known as PHerc. 1667, delves into the nature of human knowledge, the distinction between good and evil, and the value of reason over instinct, themes central to Stoic philosophy. It also references Aristocreon, the nephew of the philosopher Chrysippus. The library where it was found is believed to have belonged to the father-in-law of Julius Caesar, and it represents the only surviving collection of its kind from the Greco-Roman world.

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The technology looks like magic, but it is not. It is the means to a higher purpose: restoring the lost voices of the ancient world.