The Mysterious Herculaneum Manuscripts: Will Scientists Succeed in Reading Their Texts?

- Hundreds of papyrus scrolls were charred during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD and have remained unread at the National Library in Naples, Italy. Most of these charred pieces are known as the Herculaneum scrolls, and they are so fragile that it is impossible to open and unroll them.

Researchers and citizen scientists are currently using X-ray techniques and advanced artificial intelligence to reveal writings by ancient authors hidden within them. A new study published in the scientific journal PLOS One on September 16 may provide additional evidence that could help achieve this goal.

The researchers recreated papyrus scrolls with inks containing varying amounts of lead and found that X-ray imaging can detect lead-containing ink, present in some ancient scrolls, more easily than non-metallic ink. So far, only a few original scrolls have been digitally unrolled, and the study's results may help identify the scrolls most suitable for digital unrolling and decoding without damaging them.

The lead author of the study, Douglas Saylor, a research volunteer at the University of California, Berkeley, said: "The scrolls are very much like a piece of charcoal meant for grilling. They are just carbon, and this is the problem in reading their texts, as the ink is made from soot."

Saylor explained that artificial intelligence struggles to detect non-metallic ink because it becomes "dark carbon on dark carbon." However, adding lead makes the ink stand out in X-ray images, making it easier for AI to detect the text.

He added that the next step is to test the original scrolls to determine how much lead they contain. He said: "They can find that out in minutes if they examine the scrolls one by one, as the lead signal is very strong."

So far, one complete scroll and fragments of other scrolls have been decoded, thanks to the Vesuvius Challenge, a project launched in 2023 that offers cash prizes to researchers who succeed in decoding them. Saylor noted that most of the scrolls studied are in better condition, "the beautiful scrolls that look like toilet paper or a paper towel, meaning they are uniform in shape."

However, more than 600 scrolls remain unopened, many of which are powdered and fragmented in the Naples library. Saylor believes that the best way to digitally open and decode these scrolls is to first look for lead.

Computer scientist Brent Seales, who co-created the Vesuvius Challenge, discovered metallic ink in the Herculaneum scrolls for the first time in 2009 while studying one at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. In 2016, a study revealed lead in two fragmented scrolls, indicating that it was intentionally added to the ancient ink.

To determine if lead could help decode the scrolls, Saylor and his team recreated several scrolls using Egyptian papyrus and carbon ink similar to that used in Pompeii. They wrote various texts on them, including excerpts from the Bible and texts from Alfred Hitchcock films and the series "The Outer Limits," then rolled them up and charred them in a low-oxygen oven to simulate the conditions that preserved the original scrolls during the eruption of Vesuvius.

The team sent the replica scrolls to researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, for decoding. Using X-ray computed tomography and digital unrolling techniques, the researchers were able to reconstruct the scrolls and read texts at different levels of lead concentration.

Saylor added: "In fact, they were able to detect the texts much more clearly than we expected." The results provide "a new opportunity to finally read some of the more complex Herculaneum scrolls," according to a press release from the journal.

This method may also allow for further training of artificial intelligence and improve its ability to read ancient texts. Seales, a computer science professor at the University of Kentucky, noted that the ink compositions in the Herculaneum scrolls vary significantly, with some containing higher concentrations of metals.

However, he added that lower metal concentrations generally indicate that they reached the ink accidentally and were not a primary component. Seales continued: "Reading scrolls that have inks containing metals is somewhat easier using digital unrolling, but that does not mean it is impossible to read other scrolls.

The Vesuvius Challenge has shown that artificial intelligence is capable of detecting ink clues even in the most difficult scrolls." Seales, who was not involved in the study, expressed admiration for "the enthusiasm and perseverance of the team."

He added: "The scrolls found a way to survive, and we found a way to save them. If lead, which reached the ink accidentally, helps reveal their content, it will be another miracle that brings their words back from the brink of extinction."