AI Deciphers 2,000-Year-Old Herculaneum Scroll, Revealing Lost Ancient Texts!

For centuries, one of the world’s oldest scrolls was considered unreadable—until now. Thanks to cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced X-ray imaging, scientists have deciphered words from a 2,000-year-old papyrus that was buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

This remarkable discovery comes from PHerc. 172, a charred scroll found in the ruins of Herculaneum, a Roman city devastated alongside Pompeii. The extreme heat from the eruption carbonised the scrolls, making them too fragile to open without destroying them. However, a collaborative effort between academics, computer scientists, and engineers has finally overcome this challenge.

Photo Credit: Vesuvius Challenge

A Groundbreaking Approach to an Ancient Puzzle

Researchers at the UK’s Diamond Light Source used a synchrotron—a particle accelerator that generates powerful X-rays—to scan the scroll, creating a detailed 3D reconstruction of its layers. AI algorithms, developed through the Vesuvius Challenge, were then employed to detect hidden ink within the tightly wound papyrus.

“This scroll contains more recoverable text than we have ever seen in a scanned Herculaneum scroll,” said Dr Brent Seales, co-founder of the Vesuvius Challenge and head of the EduceLab at the University of Kentucky. “Despite these exciting results, much work remains to improve our software methods so that we can read the entirety of this and the other Herculaneum scrolls.”

What Have Scientists Discovered?

Among the first deciphered words are ἀδιάληπτος (‘foolish’), διατροπή (‘disgust’), φοβ (‘fear’), and βίου (‘life’). Scholars believe these words indicate that the text may be a work by Philodemus of Gadara, a prominent 1st-century BCE philosopher and poet. His style and themes align closely with the words found in the scroll, strengthening the theory that the text is part of a lost philosophical treatise.

The findings have sent ripples of excitement through the academic world. Richard Ovenden, head of Gardens, Libraries, and Museums at the University of Oxford, described it as “an incredible moment in history, as librarians, computer scientists, and classical scholars collaborate to see the unseen.” He praised the technological advancements that are allowing researchers to read texts untouched for nearly two millennia.

Photo Credit: Vesuvius Challenge

A Scroll With a Fascinating History

PHerc. 172 was unearthed in the 1750s at the Villa of the Papyri, an opulent Roman residence believed to have belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. In the early 19th century, King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily gifted several Herculaneum scrolls to the future King George IV of the United Kingdom—reportedly in exchange for a shipment of kangaroos.

Today, the scroll is housed at Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries, where it remains one of only three Herculaneum scrolls in the collection. Compared to others, its ink appears much denser, making it more detectable via X-ray scanning. Researchers hope this will refine AI’s ability to read even more of the text in the future.

The Vesuvius Challenge: Pushing the Boundaries of AI

The Vesuvius Challenge, launched in 2023 by Dr Brent Seales and Silicon Valley backers, has played a crucial role in unlocking these ancient texts. The competition encourages teams worldwide to develop AI solutions for analysing 3D scans of the scrolls.

Last year, a team of students—Youssef Nader (Germany), Luke Farritor (USA), and Julian Schilliger (Switzerland)—won the $700,000 grand prize after successfully identifying over 2,000 Greek letters from another scroll. Their breakthrough set the stage for this latest discovery from PHerc. 172.

The Future of AI and Ancient Texts

While these advancements mark a major step forward, the work is far from over. AI can detect ink but still struggles to distinguish individual letters or interpret the text. Human scholars must manually reconstruct and analyse the writing to understand its full meaning.

Nonetheless, the potential is extraordinary. As AI technology improves, we may soon unlock entire lost works of philosophy, literature, and history—offering an unprecedented glimpse into the intellectual world of ancient Rome.

The story of PHerc. 172 is just beginning, and with continued innovation, more hidden voices from the past may finally be heard.