06-05-2025
Scroll charred by eruption of Vesuvius finally reveals secrets
An ancient papyrus scroll long believed to have been rendered 'unreadable' by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago, is finally yielding its secrets.
The scroll was found in the remains of one of the most opulent villas in the Roman town of Herculaneum, about 12 miles from Pompeii. When Vesuvius erupted, the building was buried under layers of volcanic ash and mud. The papyrus, along with hundreds of others, was 'carbonised'.
Heated to extreme temperatures in the absence of oxygen, it came to resemble a badly burnt sausage, black and too brittle ever to be unrolled.
The title of the carbonised scroll, with transcribed letters overlaid, was deciphered by two graduate students at the University of Wurzburg
VESUVIUS CHALLENGE
Yet researchers have now been able to use powerful x-ray imaging and artificial intelligence to peer at some of its innermost layers. Without having to unfurl
