The scrolls of paper, which were found in Herculeum and are therefore called the Herculeum Scrolls, are so brittle and charred that they would fall apart if anyone tried to open them, writes the American news network CNN.
Father-in-law of Julius Caesar
Since the discovery of the paper rolls at the end of the 18th century, it was therefore unknown what was on the more than 1,000 rolls. However, scientists always had the idea that they could be of great historical value, because they were found in what was probably the house of Julius Caesar’s father-in-law, writes the University of Kentucky.
It is now possible to decipher what is written on the paper from a few rolls. To do this, scientists have used a technique they call ‘virtual unpacking’. Scans were made of the rolls of paper using X-rays. That process can be seen in this video:
The scans were then ‘rolled out’, as it were, and advanced AI (artificial intelligence) was used to detect where there was ink on the paper. This was compared and the photos were then sent to papyrologists (people who deal with texts written on papyrus in ancient Greek) in England, France and Italy.
Philodemus van Gadara
In this way, the first passages of one of the texts have been deciphered. The text appears to have been written by the philosopher Philodemus van Gadarawho worked in the library of the house where the scrolls were found.
The first word to be deciphered was the word ‘porphyras’, ‘purple’ in Greek. More can now be said about the content of the text. Philodemus of Gadara wrote on the scroll about ‘pleasure, and whether the abundance of things available can influence the pleasure those things give’. “Just like with food, we do not immediately believe that scarce products give more pleasure than products that are in abundance,” is the first sentence of the text.
The scientists are excited about the discovery and the fact that the techniques they used appear to work. “It’s extremely satisfying to know that these texts are available, and we now have a way to read them.”
Take it easy
It may also give Philodemus more fame. “He was forgotten over the years because we couldn’t really read what he had written. (…) In these passages, he tries to convince the people who listen to him that they should take it easy, find good friendships, having to live in the moment and enjoy the good things in life,” one of the researchers involved in the project told CNN.
The scientists hope that one of the scrolls will be almost completely deciphered this year and that the other three that have been made public will soon follow. They have offered a prize of $100,000 for the first person to decipher at least 90 percent of all four scrolls.
2024-02-18 08:47:06
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