Artificial intelligence helps decipher ancient manuscripts
Ancient researchers believe they are on the verge of a new era of understanding after scientists armed with artificial intelligence read the hidden text of a charred scroll that was buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius almost 2000 years ago.
Photo: EduceLab/University of Kentucky
When Vesuvius erupted nearly two millennia ago, volcanic debris buried Pompeii and turned it into a city forever frozen in time. Researchers consider the doomed metropolis one of the most moving archaeological sites in the world. The well-preserved expanses of Pompeii contain a wealth of finds that continue to amaze archaeologists as they unearth more parts of the lost city.
Intact objects such as chariots, frescoes and even graffiti have shed light on what ancient Roman life was like at the thriving resort before the cataclysmic event, and provide evidence of when the eruption occurred.
And now researchers studying the artifacts from the nearby city of Herculaneum are using new technology to peer beneath the ash and dirt of Vesuvius and uncover more of history's best-kept secrets, CNN notes.
Artificial intelligence has discovered the first nearly complete passages that have been deciphered from the charred, fragile scrolls of Herculaneum.
Hundreds of papyrus scrolls kept in the library of a luxurious Roman villa in Herculaneum burned to the ground when the city was devastated by a massive explosion of heat, ash and pumice that destroyed nearby Pompeii in 79 AD.
Excavations in the 18th century identified more than 1,000 whole or partial scrolls from a mansion believed to have belonged to Julius Caesar's father-in-law, but the black ink on the charred papyri was unreadable and the scrolls fell into pieces when researchers tried to open them.
Hundreds of charred papyrus scrolls that survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius inside what experts say was likely the home of the emperor's father-in-law look as if they could crumble at any moment. But technological progress makes it possible for the first time since 79 AD to practically unroll the scrolls, allowing papyrologists to translate the words of the philosopher Philodemus.
“In these passages he urges the people who listen to him to relax in some way, make good friends, spend time living in the moment and enjoying pleasures”,” said Roger McFarlane, professor of classical studies at Brigham Young University.
A breakthrough in reading ancient materials was the $1 million Vesuvius Challenge, launched in 2023 by Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky, and Silicon Valley backers. The competition offered prizes for extracting text from a high-resolution CT scan of the scroll taken at Diamond, the UK's national synchrotron center in Oxfordshire.
Recently, Nat Friedman, the US technical director and founding sponsor of the competition, announced that a team of three computer savvy students, Yusef Nader from Germany, Luke Farritor from the United States and Julian Schilliger from Switzerland, won the $700,000 grand prize by reading more than 2,000 Greek letters from the scroll.
Papyrologists, Those who studied the text extracted from the blackened scroll were stunned by this feat. “This is a complete game changer, – said Robert Fowler, Emeritus Professor of Greek at the University of Bristol and Chairman of the Herculaneum Society. – There are hundreds of these scrolls waiting to be read.”
Dr. Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at the Federico II University of Naples, added: “This is the beginning of a revolution in Herculaneum papyrology and in Greek philosophy in general. This is the only library that has come down to us from the times of Ancient Rome”.
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