Words from an ancient philosopher deciphered from a 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scroll
A total of 15 passages were deciphered from the unrolled scroll. The first word to be decoded, the Greek word for purple, was detected in October 2023 and can be found within the newly interpreted passages. (Vesuvius Challenge) After using artificial intelligence to uncover the first word to be read from an unopened Herculaneum scroll, a team of researchers has revealed several nearly complete passages from the ancient text, giving insight into philosophy from almost 2,000 years ago.
The Herculaneum scrolls are hundreds of papyri that survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. In their charred state, the ancient documents would crumble if anyone attempted to unroll them, and any writing on surviving pieces would be nearly illegible to the human eye.