Artificial intelligence has enabled researchers to virtually unwrap and read a carbonised papyrus scroll that was burnt to a crisp during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago. The scroll, known as PHerc 1667, is one of hundreds recovered from a library in Herculaneum, a Roman town destroyed along with Pompeii in AD79.
The surviving portion, measuring just 8 centimetres tall and 2 centimetres wide, contains 20 columns of previously hidden text discussing stoic philosophy on ethics, art and human behaviour. The work dates back to the second or late-third century BC, making it one of the oldest in the collection. The scroll was broken in half and damaged by past attempts to open it physically.
Dr Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at the University of Naples Federico II, described the achievement as significant because it demonstrates the ability to fully unwrap these objects virtually. The findings are to be presented at a conference in Naples on Thursday.
The breakthrough is part of the Vesuvius Challenge, a global contest launched in 2023 to read the scrolls using AI and high-resolution X-ray images. The text, possibly written by the Greek stoic philosopher Chrysippus, discusses concepts such as hormē (impulse) and phronēsis (practical wisdom). It warns against failing to regulate behaviour with reason, which can lead to harmful passions.
Professor Brent Seales of the University of Kentucky, whose work underpinned the challenge, said the focus has now shifted from reading the scrolls to understanding them. “People now know that this can be done and now we’re exploring what [the texts] actually mean,” he said.
