The Vesuvius Challenge project has announced news that many researchers regard as a breakthrough for archaeology. For the first time, a charred papyrus scroll from Herculaneum has been successfully deciphered in its entirety without unrolling it and without the risk of damage. The researchers used artificial intelligence, computed tomography and a technique for virtually unrolling the papyrus. The findings were announced on 25 June 2026 in Naples, and there is already talk of the beginning of a new era in the study of ancient texts.
The 2,000-year-old scroll from Herculaneum
The greatest sensation was caused by the papyrus labelled PHerc. 1667, discovered as far back as the 18th century in the famous Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum. Since its discovery, it had been considered virtually impossible to decipher. The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE turned it into a compact, charred lump resembling a piece of coal. Any attempt to unroll it mechanically would have led to the complete destruction of the artefact. This time, however, researchers have deciphered approximately 1.5 metres of continuous Greek text spread across 20 columns, without damaging the papyrus. The content deals with issues of ethics, human conduct, art and the relationship between impulse and reason. According to the researchers, the author may have been Chrysippus of Solae or a member of his school. Confirmation of this hypothesis would be of immense significance for research into Stoic philosophy, as a significant portion of the thinker’s work was already lost in antiquity.
Artificial intelligence helped the researchers
The key to success proved to be a combination of several modern research methods. First, the papyrus scroll was scanned using phase-contrast X-ray microtomography, producing a three-dimensional image of all the layers of the papyrus. Specialised algorithms then digitally separated hundreds of tightly rolled fragments, whilst artificial intelligence models detected almost invisible traces of ink. In some of the new scans, the text was successfully identified directly from the tomographic data – something that, just a few years ago, seemed beyond the reach of science. During the same presentation, it was announced that over 70 columns of text had been deciphered from scroll PHerc. 172, and that papyrus PHerc. 139 had been identified as the eighth book of Philodemus of Gadara’s treatise *On the Gods*. The discovery suggests that the work was considerably larger in scope than previously thought.
A city destroyed by Vesuvius
The history of these papyri began almost two thousand years ago. Herculaneum was a prosperous Roman town situated on the Bay of Naples, famous for the magnificent residences belonging to the aristocracy. Among them was the Villa of the Papyri, with its exceptional library, which to this day remains the only known, almost complete collection of books preserved from the ancient world. During the eruption of Vesuvius, the city was buried by waves of hot gases and ash reaching temperatures of around 500°C, and was subsequently covered by a layer of sediment up to 20 metres thick. Paradoxically, it was precisely the lack of oxygen that allowed the wooden parts of the buildings, furniture, textiles, food and hundreds of charred scrolls to survive.
There is more than one scroll from Herculaneum
Herculaneum was discovered by chance in 1709 whilst digging a well. The initial work bore more resemblance to the extraction of valuable artefacts than to modern archaeology, which is why many artefacts from the buried city have irretrievably lost their context. The charred papyri were initially regarded as worthless lumps, and later attempts to unroll them resulted in the destruction of the texts. Today, researchers proceed with much greater caution. As for Herculaneum, only about a quarter of the ancient city has been uncovered so far, as each new excavation site requires costly conservation work, and furthermore, a significant part of the city lies beneath modern-day Ercolano. There are still over 600 sealed scrolls in the libraries of Naples and Paris. The latest achievement of the Vesuvius Challenge project offers a real opportunity to discover their contents without damaging the delicate papyri, paving the way for the recovery of further works by the philosophers, historians and writers of antiquity.
source: scrollprize.org, engr.uky.edu
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