Posted on 05/06/2025 1:04:57 PM PDT by Red Badger
Nearly 2,000 years after it was buried in Mount Vesuvius ash, a charred Roman scroll has revealed its author and title without even being unrolled.
Title revealed on PHerc. 172 using ink detection model. - Vesuvius Challenge
The scroll, named PHerc. 172, is one of hundreds unearthed in the ancient Roman town of Herculaneum, which was entombed in volcanic debris when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, one of history’s most infamous eruptions
The scroll was scanned in July at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron facility in Oxfordshire. Unusually, traces of ink appeared in the X-ray images, enabling researchers to identify the text.
Now part of the Vesuvius Challenge — a global initiative launched in 2023 to read the carbonized texts without physically unrolling them — an Italian farmer discovered the scrolls in the 18th century from a villa believed to be once owned by the father-in-law of Julius Caesar, preserved under layers of mud and ash.
Tech breathes new life
For centuries, scholars struggled to read these scrolls, which were so badly burned that they disintegrated when researchers attempted to unroll them, and the ink was invisible on the carbonized papyrus.
Scientists have deployed several methods, including chemicals and even gases, but these methods have often damaged or destroyed the ancient texts.
Now, technological advances have made it possible to read their contents without causing further damage.
Photograph of PHerc. 172 (Bodleian Libraries, Oxford University)
Using high-resolution scans and AI analysis, graduate students Marcel Roth and Michał Nowak from the University of Würzburg, along with Vesuvius Challenge researcher Sean Johnson, deciphered the scroll’s author as Philodemus and the title as On Vices — a breakthrough later confirmed by a team of papyrology experts.
Epicurean wisdom unearthed again
The Greek philosopher is associated with the Epicurean school of thought, which emphasized the pursuit of pleasure and ethical living. He is believed to be the primary author of most scrolls found in the villa, offering a rare glimpse into the intellectual life of the Roman elite just before disaster struck.
According to a statement by Oxford University’s Bodleian Libraries, which houses the scrolls, the text is believed to be part of a larger series, possibly even its first volume, though that detail is still under review.
The scroll is part of Philodemus’ broader ethical work, titled ‘Περὶ κακιῶν καὶ τῶν ἀντικειμένων ἀρετῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν οἷϲ εἰϲι καὶ περὶ ἅ’ that translates to ‘On Vices and Their Opposite Virtues and In Whom They Are and About What’ in English. While it may be the first book in the series, that isn’t certain yet.
Recent autosegmentation output of PHerc. 172. - Vesuvius Challenge
Scholars at Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries say the book number could plausibly be read as “alpha,” suggesting it’s book one, though it might also be “delta,” or book four.
Previously, researchers believed the first volume of On Vices was a text called On Flattery, but the contents of PHerc. 172 don’t match that description.
This marks the first time a scroll’s title has ever been read — a milestone for the Vesuvius Challenge. The project has seen a series of breakthroughs in recent months.
In October 2023, researchers decoded the first full word from an unopened scroll using advanced AI: “πορφυρας” (porphyras), the Greek word for “purple.”
Then in February, they identified another word — “διατροπή,” meaning “disgust” — which appeared twice in a series of columns from PHerc. 172, according to the Bodleian Libraries.
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PinGGG!......................
The library overdue fine on that one is gonna make somebody’s eyes water.
That’s Incredible! Altho, a more complete verification later on, would be strongly advised. Sometimes, AI will ‘fill in the blank spaces’ with a logical bridge of data or fill it up with gobbledeegook, just to complete the sentence, or so I have heard.
I have been forced to use AI Search via Google on my iphone. I cannot ‘remove’ it. Most times it’s ‘okay’.
The AI is an offer I cannot refuse!
There are apparently ways to remove, but it’s purposely made to be tedious, mysterious and not guaranteed.
“Big mistake
Many make
Rely on horn
Instead of brake
Burma Shave”
The rest of two keywords (Vesuvius Challenge, and Villa of the Papyri), sorted:
Thanks for the topic!
Dang, now his heirs will claim copyright.
He lived so long ago, if he ever had children, there’s a decent chance that most people of European backgrounds (including those in former colonies) are his descendants. :^)
[snip] It is also vain to be pained at the thought of dying leaving no children behind (22–4): one will be remembered by friends, especially philosophical ones, one’s name will be worn by others in the course of future time, and one’s children may not be as worthwhile custodians of one’s legacy as one’s friends. [/snip]
Yup, sounds like he had kids.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philodemus/
At one new word every year and a half, in a mere couple of decades they may have a complete sentence. Maybe even two.
Let’s get bookman on this.
His style was smooth
His chin was not
He’s the guy
The gals forgot
Burma Shave
Its like having only the cover of a book. Reminds me of self help books popular a while back. In the scrolls there might be something really good, Like the lost Autobiography of Alexander there Great or the History of the Etruscans by Claudius.
A copy of the Etruscan/Latin dictionary would be so cool.
Hhmmm...wonder if AI could read the remainder of a front page with handwritten old english script in our 1721 copy of the Magna Carta? Hhmmmm
The words “vices” and “disgust” make me suspect that it’s someone’s favorite garum recipe. I’m unsure about how the word “purple” would factor in, though.
You beat me to it! And I'd be just as pleased with a Linear A/Latin! Or even a Rongorongo/Latin! :)
It's been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. Etruscans, in particular, went to such trouble to furnish tombs with all you'd want in the hereafter, except reading material!
We have that! From 1793
Journal of an Asiatic Expedition
Vol. IV No. II; Feb 1793; p.98; by R
http://www.henrylivingston.com/writing/prose/journal.htm
or watch an illustrated version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByGN29_5VRQ
“Journal of Alexander the Great” by Henry Livingston (1793)
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