The Secrets of the Herculaneum Papyri (Video)

The Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples is one of Italy’s largest libraries, housing over a million books and manuscripts. Among its collections, the Herculaneum Papyri stand out as some of the most significant artifacts in Roman archaeology. These carbonized scrolls were buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and rediscovered in the mid-eighteenth century. Early attempts to open them often resulted in damage, but advancements in technology have brought new hope.

A priest named Antonio Piaggio developed a method to peel back the outer layers of the scrolls, which, despite its successes, led to many scrolls disintegrating. Traditionally, scholars focused on the fragments from these scrolls. However, new technological breakthroughs are changing this. Scholars at the Naples library, including Dr. Federica Nicolardi, are employing cutting-edge tools to virtually reconstruct the papyri. This includes Maque-IT, a software tool aiding in the process of reassembling the fragmented texts.

The Vesuvius Challenge, using machine learning, has also made significant strides. Last year, a team managed to read about 5% of an unopened scroll, and efforts to decipher entire scrolls are promising. These advancements could reveal much more about the contents of the Herculaneum papyri than previously thought.

Most of the scrolls are works of Epicurean philosophy, particularly by Philodemus of Gadara. However, there is potential for uncovering lost works of history and literature. The villa where the scrolls were found is only partially excavated, suggesting that more discoveries await. Even without further excavation, the recent breakthroughs ensure that the Herculaneum Papyri will continue to provide insights into the ancient world.

Top image: Left; Photos of the papyrus fragments, Right; Text from the Herculaneum scroll.         Source: CC BY 4.0 /Vesuvius Challenge/Nature