The Herculaneum Papyri represent one of the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of the 18th century. These ancient, completely charred papyrus scrolls were discovered during excavations of the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum, which was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. For years, attempts have been made to read the contents of Herculaneum’s charred papyri. But very often the attempts proved futile, due to the extreme fragility of the papyri and the difficulty in unrolling them without damaging them.
Today, however, an important goal has been achieved; artificial intelligence has made it possible to decipher an entire word without unrolling the papyrus.
Discovery of the Herculaneum Papyri
It was 1750, when during excavations at the site of Herculaneum, archaeologists found a charred library inside the Villa of the Papyri. This private library contained numerous papyrus scrolls, exceptionally well preserved due to the volcanic eruption that had covered the city. The scrolls, contained in oxygen-free wooden crates, were charred by the intense heat of the pyroclastic flow during the eruption and remained preserved for centuries in compact, brittle blocks.
More than 1,800 papyri were recovered, but not all of them are visible today. In fact, many were lost during excavations others were destroyed during early attempts to unroll them.
From the very beginning, archaeologists actually faced a major obstacle: the scrolls were completely charred and fell apart at the slightest touch.
Deciphering the Herculaneum Papyri proved to be a difficult challenge for scholars because of their extremely fragile state of preservation. For many years, experts have tried to unroll and read the scrolls without damaging them, but the results have been limited.
Recently, however, artificial intelligence has proven to be a valuable ally in deciphering these ancient documents.
Reading papyri with X-rays
For years already, the group led by Brent Seales, had been working on reading papyrus scrolls, and thanks to X-rays, it was possible to digitally read an entire scroll without damaging it.
Seales’ method was based on a particle accelerator with an algorithm that could detect traces of carbon-based ink invisible to infrared.
Now, however, artificial intelligence has taken a further step forward.
Based on the work of Brent Seales, a 21-year-old Luke Farritor has deciphered for the first time a word contained in an unopened Herculaneum scroll. It is the word “purple” written in ancient Greek.
Farritor using Seales X-ray scans and an artificial intelligence program managed to decipher a few letters (ten), in an area of 4 square centimeters within the unrolled papyri and the word purple.
A success that enabled the student to win a $40,000 prize raffled off by the Vesuvius Challenge. Which had recently issued a challenge for whoever could speed up the reading of the Herculaneum papyri.
What artificial intelligence allows us to discover
The use of artificial intelligence in deciphering the Herculaneum Papyri represents a major breakthrough in the study of these ancient documents.
Thanks to the data processing and analysis capabilities of artificial intelligence, scholars are gradually unraveling the contents of these charred scrolls.
The discoveries on the Herculaneum Papyri enrich our knowledge of ancient Rome and allow us to take a more intimate look at the life and culture of that distant era. Artificial intelligence is thus confirmed as a valuable tool for deciphering the past and preserving our historical and cultural heritage.
