Researchers digitally read charred scrolls from Herculaneum – without opening them

Seales also recalled how quickly the progress had come. "Just a year ago, it would have been unthinkable for any of us to believe that we could ever read a complete scroll with hundreds of columns of text completely non-destructively." High-resolution scans and computer-based methods now make it possible to virtually detect the ink on the individual papyrus layers.

Virtual Unrolling Replaces Risky Opening

Federica Nicolardi, lead papyrologist of the Vesuvius Challenge, explained the consequences for research: "Thanks to virtual unrolling, we no longer have to choose between preserving and deciphering these extraordinary artifacts. We can do both." Until now, even the best available methods had required physical damage: "Even with the best available methods ... one had to damage the scrolls to physically unroll and read them."

Within 24 hours before the announcement, the researchers said they had virtually fully unrolled a scroll and revealed around 140 columns of new text. Previously, only about ten percent of the columns had been accessible. The amount of readable material from Herculaneum is therefore growing rapidly.

Among the newly presented texts are 70 columns from "On Vices, Book 1," attributed to the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus. The oldest previously unrolled Herculaneum papyrus dates from the 3rd century BC, contains around 1.5 meters of readable text in 20 columns, and addresses topics such as ethics, art, and human behavior.

Philodemus and a 3rd-Century BC Papyrus

According to the researchers, around 45 papyrus scrolls and fragments have been scanned to date. More than 600 additional scrolls remain unopened. The Vesuvius Challenge intends to publish all data, computer code, and models of the papyri online to accelerate research.

As an additional incentive, the Vesuvius Challenge has offered a prize of one million US dollars (around 881,830 euros) to the person or team that is the first to fully decipher another scroll. The project explicitly sees itself as an open scientific collaborative endeavor.

Further Finds Expected in Future Excavations

Archaeology could also benefit from the advances: large parts of the villa in which the scrolls were found have not yet been excavated. There is hope that further excavations will bring additional scrolls to light, which can then be read digitally using the same methods – without the fragile originals having to be touched.