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yesterday

AI Deciphers Title and Author of Sealed Herculaneum Scroll After 2,000 Years

Researchers identify Philodemus's 'On Vices' using advanced X-ray imaging and AI, marking a milestone in reading ancient carbonized texts.

The scroll was digitally unwrapped to reveal writing, which researchers are working to decode.
PHerc. 172 was burned nearly 2,000 years ago, when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
Title revealed on PHerc. 172 using ink detection model
A scan of the inside of PHerc. 172, which cannot be physically unrolled or it could be damaged.

Overview

  • The scroll, PHerc. 172, was identified as 'On Vices' by the Greek philosopher Philodemus, an Epicurean thinker emphasizing ethical living through pleasure.
  • This is the first time the full title and author of a sealed Herculaneum scroll have been deciphered without physically unrolling it.
  • Graduate students Marcel Roth and Micha Nowak, along with Vesuvius Challenge researcher Sean Johnson, independently confirmed the discovery, earning the $60,000 First Title Prize.
  • The scroll is part of the Villa of the Papyri library, buried in 79 AD by Mount Vesuvius, and represents one of the few surviving Greco-Roman libraries.
  • Efforts continue to decode additional scrolls using synchrotron imaging and AI, with researchers working to segment and interpret massive scan data into readable texts.