Unrolling the scrolls has proved difficult and destructive
Analysis is a painstaking job because the layers of paper are squashed and twisted
The scrolls are the only library known to have survived from classical times
The work was time-consuming and involved a lot of guesswork, particularly because the layers of paper were not just rolled, but squashed and mangled by their encounter with Vesuvius.Furthermore, the grid of papyrus fibres within the paper posed complications, because it disguised many of the letters' vertical and horizontal strokes. For this reason, letters with curved lines were easier to pick out.
Simply amazing! Having visited Herculaneum and Pompeii, and seen the total destruction, this technology will serve to open up some of the secrets lost when Vesuvius erupted.