AI unveils Stoic text from a Vesuvius-charred Herculaneum papyrus

Researchers have virtually unwrapped a carbonized Herculaneum papyrus, revealing more than 20 columns of Greek text without physically opening the fragile roll. Using machine-learning techniques honed through the Vesuvius Challenge, teams decoded high-resolution X-ray scans to expose a Stoic treatise dating to the second or late-third century BC—possibly linked to Chrysippus—and passages on impulse, reason and practical wisdom. The breakthrough, announced at a Naples conference, underscores a shift from proving the technology to scholarly interpretation, as additional scans have also identified “Philodemus, On Gods, Book 8,” expanding a known work. Backed by Silicon Valley donors and led by University of Kentucky computer scientist Brent Seales, the project is accelerating recovery of texts once thought unreadable.

Read more