As researchers embark on a global challenge to read the charred scrolls of Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, artificial intelligence is playing a crucial role in unlocking the hidden knowledge within these ancient texts.

The AI-Powered Decoding Mission

The devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius not only destroyed Pompeii but also left behind hundreds of ancient scrolls in the charred library of a luxury villa in Herculaneum. Now, scientists led by Professor Brent Seales at the University of Kentucky have demonstrated that an artificial intelligence program can extract text from high-resolution X-ray images of these fragile documents. By training a machine learning algorithm, the team was able to detect minute differences in the papyrus structure to read the ink hidden within the layers.

The Vesuvius Challenge

In a bid to accelerate the decoding process, Seales’s team is launching the “Vesuvius Challenge,” releasing their software and thousands of 3D X-ray images of the scrolls and papyrus fragments. With $250,000 in prize money, the challenge aims to attract research groups worldwide to improve AI algorithms and enhance the decoding of the ancient library. The grand prize of $150,000 will be awarded to the first team to read four passages of text from the scrolls’ inner layers before the end of 2023.

The Scrolls’ Origins

The two unopened scrolls housed at the Institut de France in Paris were discovered in the 1750s during excavations of a lavish villa believed to have belonged to a wealthy Roman statesman, possibly Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. The library contained Epicurean philosophical texts, and through infrared imaging and X-ray images, Seales’s team trained their algorithm to read Greek letters and symbols.

Potential Discoveries

The majority of Herculaneum scrolls analyzed so far are written in ancient Greek, but some may contain Latin texts, poems by Sappho, or even Mark Antony’s treatise on his drunkenness. Seales is hopeful that the scrolls could reveal insights into early Christian philosophy and the development of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Stephen Parsons, a Ph.D. candidate on the team, believes that advancements by competitors could lead to significant gains in understanding the scrolls. The technology’s potential to reveal human stories from nearly 2,000 years ago offers an unforgettable connection through time.

The eruptiuon

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 was a cataclysmic event that forever altered the landscape of the Roman Empire. As the volcano violently erupted, it spewed a deadly mix of ash, pumice, and toxic gases into the atmosphere, ultimately burying the thriving cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum beneath a thick layer of volcanic debris. This apocalyptic event claimed the lives of thousands of inhabitants, leaving behind a haunting scene of life interrupted. The unprecedented scale of destruction immortalized these cities in history, providing an invaluable snapshot of Roman life and culture that continues to captivate and inform scholars, archaeologists, and the public alike.

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