Researchers Use AI to Decrypt 2,000-Year-Old Roman Scroll Charred by Mount Vesuvius
A team of three researchers has made a groundbreaking discovery using artificial intelligence (AI) to read a 2,000-year-old Roman scroll that was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii. The researchers were awarded a cash prize of $700,000 for their remarkable achievement.
The scroll, part of the Herculaneum papyri collection, consists of nearly 800 rolled-up Greek scrolls that were carbonized during the volcanic eruption in 79 CE. These scrolls had been kept at the National Library of Naples and Institut de France in Paris but suffered extensive damage and crumbling when attempts were made to unroll them.
The Vesuvius Challenge, an initiative aimed at advancing research on the papyri, conducted high-resolution CT scans of four scrolls and offered substantial prizes to expedite the decrypting process. The ultimate goal was to shed light on the ancient world and potentially rewrite key periods of history.
The winning researchers, Luke Farritor, Youssef Nader, and Julian Schilliger, utilized AI technology to differentiate ink from papyrus and decode the faint Greek lettering using pattern recognition. Their groundbreaking work has been able to recover 85% of the characters in four passages, equivalent to decoding nearly 5% of the entire scroll.
Robert Fowler, chair of the Herculaneum Society and a classicist, expressed excitement over the potential implications of the decoded texts, stating, Some of these texts could completely rewrite the history of key periods of the ancient world.
One of the researchers, Luke Farritor, had already made a significant breakthrough last year when he decoded the first word in one of the scrolls, which turned out to be the Greek word for purple. The scroll is believed to have been authored by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus and contains writings about music, food, and the art of enjoying life’s pleasures.
The papyri were discovered in a villa, once thought to belong to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law, that housed a vast library with thousands of additional manuscripts yet to be explored.
This remarkable use of AI technology showcases the potential for modern advancements in unraveling ancient mysteries. The contribution of AI in deciphering the enigmatic Greek lettering on the charred scroll from Pompeii not only brings us closer to understanding the ancient world but also presents an incredible opportunity to rewrite our historical narratives. Further research and decryption efforts are expected to continue as scholars delve deeper into the fascinating secrets contained within the Herculaneum papyri.
