X-Ray Scans Reveal Title and Author of Charred Herculaneum Scroll

HERCULANEUM, ITALY—The library of the so-called Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum contained hundreds of ancient literary works when the Roman city was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in a.d. 79. The eruption left the papyrus scrolls in charred carbonized bundles that archaeologists discovered in the eighteenth century. They have been much too delicate for experts to open, but recent technological advances are now allowing researchers to virtually unroll some of them. The Guardian reports that new X-ray scans of a scroll known as P.Herc.172, which currently resides in the collection of Oxford University’s Bodleian Libraries, were able to detect ink lettering for the first time that revealed the name of an ancient author and the title of the work. Researchers were able to make out the name Philodemus, a Greek Epicurean philosopher who lived in the first century b.c. The written text contained on the scroll seems to be part of his 10-volume work On Vices, which covers topics such as greed, arrogance, and flattery. This was an incredible breakthrough and the researchers believe many more such discoveries could come soon given advances in technology. “The pace is ramping up very quickly,” said papyrologist Michael McOsker. “All of the technological progress that’s been made on this has been in the last three to five years and on the timescales of classicists, that’s unbelievable. Everything we’re getting from the Herculaneum library is new to us.” For more, go to "The Charred Scrolls of Herculaneum."