Researchers 'virtually unwrap' ancient scrolls charred by Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD

When the eruption of Mount Vesuvius reached Herculaneum in AD79, it was found that it buried the Roman town in ash and pumice and burned hundreds of antique scrolls in the library. The scrolls are like treasures for historians, who may now be able to decipher them, with the help of artificial intelligence. 

Mount Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano, located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy. It is about 9km east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. 

From the charred remains of its eruption nearly 2,000 ago, researchers have taken the first word.

Prof Brent Seales, who is a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky, announced the discovery on Thursday (Oct 12). 

Prof Seales among others had launched the Vesuvius challenge in March to push the reading of the texts. The challenge also offers cash prizes to researchers who successfully extract words from the burnt scrolls. 

The experts have said that the Herculaneum scrolls are among the most iconic, but the manuscripts are damaged and inaccessible and so fragile that it's difficult to unroll. 

Seales and his team, comprising staff and student researchers with the Digital Restoration Initiative, have spent more than two decades to find ways to rescue the scrolls. 

As quoted by The Guardian, Stephen Parsons, who is a staff researcher on the digital restoration initiative at the university, said: "This is the first recovered text from one of these rolled-up, intact scrolls." 

Luke Farritor in Nebraska and Youssef Nader in Berlin, two computer science students, accepted the Vesuvius challenge and improved the search process. 

They each discovered the same old Greek term in one of the scrolls independently: "πορφύραc" - "purple". 

Seales said, "This word is our first dive into an unopened ancient book, evocative of royalty, wealth, and even mockery. What will the context show? Pliny the Elder explores 'purple' in his 'natural history' as a production process for Tyrian purple from shellfish. The Gospel of Mark describes how Jesus was mocked as he was clothed in purple robes before crucifixion. What this particular scroll is discussing is still unknown, but I believe it will soon be revealed. An old, new story that starts for us with ‘purple’ is an incredible place to be," he added. 

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