‘2000-year-old’: AI is helping scientists to decipher Papyri scrolls from ancient Rome
Produced by Tarun Mishra
Produced by Tarun Mishra
More than 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, scientists are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to decipher ancient scrolls carbonised by the disaster.
Hundreds of papyrus scrolls were unearthed in the 1750s in the remains of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum. These scrolls, believed to contain invaluable ancient knowledge, are so fragile that any attempt to physically unroll them would lead to their disintegration.
The 2023 ‘Vesuvius Challenge’ competition, backed by technology executives, offered financial incentives for breakthroughs in reading the scrolls using AI, machine learning, and advanced imaging techniques. These efforts recently led to a major scientific breakthrough.
On Wednesday, scientists successfully generated the first-ever image of the interior of one of the three scrolls housed at Oxford University’s Bodleian Library. The discovery marked a milestone in deciphering the texts without damaging them.
Using a synchrotron—a high-energy particle accelerator—scientists scanned the scroll with assistance from Diamond Light Source, a research facility in Harwell, near Oxford. The AI then processed the images, searching for ink traces and enhancing the text’s clarity.
Although AI has its limitations, the process has so far identified the Ancient Greek word for ‘disgust’. Scholars are now encouraged to contribute to further deciphering the text, as researchers work to refine the imaging techniques.
Peter Toth, Curator of Greek Collections at the Bodleian Library, acknowledged that the work is in its early stages. Efforts are underway to improve image quality and develop local technology, which could prevent the need to transport the remaining two scrolls. With around 1,000 more scrolls still stored in Naples, the potential for new discoveries remains vast.
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