AI helps decipher carbonized Herculaneum scroll buried by Vesuvius eruption 2,000 years ago
By
Lianne Kolirin
Summary
A papyrus scroll (PHerc. 1667) from Herculaneum, carbonized during the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, has been virtually unrolled and partially deciphered using artificial intelligence. The scroll is part of the Vesuvius Challenge, an initiative that uses AI and advanced imaging to read the Herculaneum papyri without physically unrolling them — a task long considered impossible due to their fragile, burnt state. The breakthrough demonstrates how machine learning can recover lost ancient texts buried for nearly two millennia.
Source
bskyAI helps decipher carbonized Herculaneum scroll buried by Vesuvius eruption 2,000 years agocnn.comKey quotes
· 2 pulledThe scroll — named PHerc. 1667 — is one of hundreds from the ancient Roman town of Herculaneum, which was buried under volcanic debris when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
A papyrus scroll that was burned and carbonized when Mount Vesuvius erupted almost 2,000 years ago has been virtually unrolled and partially deciphered with the help of artificial intelligence.
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