Yet More Scrolls Burned by Vesuvius Are Decoded by AI–Revealing Insights by Unknown Stoic Philosopher

Scientists have successfully uncovered new insights into classical literature from burned papyrus scrolls destroyed during the volcanic eruption that buried the city of Pompeii. These recovered texts include deep philosophical reflections from an unknown author and the title "Book 8" from a larger work called On Gods, written by the Greek philosopher Philodemus. These discoveries mark a significant milestone in our understanding of ancient thought and daily life in the Roman Empire.

The findings are the direct result of major scientific advancements in particle acceleration and artificial intelligence. These tools allow researchers to see through layers of carbonized material that were previously unreadable. The recovered text sheds light on what people were reading during that era, the structure of ancient bibliographies, and the specific philosophical debates of the time. This breakthrough transforms damaged artifacts into vital sources of historical knowledge.

The papyrus scrolls in question were discovered in Herculaneum, a city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The scrolls were found in a villa that likely belonged to Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonianus, the father-in-law of Julius Caesar. This collection contains approximately 800 scrolls and represents the only intact library known to survive from the Classical World. While many archives of clay tablets from ancient Assyria and Babylon have been found, clay tends to survive longer than papyrus. Therefore, the Herculaneum library is a unique and fragile treasure.

For nearly three centuries, scientists have attempted to safely unravel these scrolls. Early efforts involved physical unrolling or using chemical methods to make the ink visible. All such attempts resulted in failure or irreparable damage to the fragile charcoal-like paper. The scrolls were so brittle that any physical handling risked turning them into dust. This historical context explains why the recent technological approach is so revolutionary.

Currently, researchers are using a combination of CT scans and machine learning to recover bits of this ancient literature without touching the scrolls. The most advanced efforts come from the Vesuvius Challenge, an initiative launched in March 2023. The challenge was created by Silicon Valley figures Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman, working with Brent Seales, a computer science professor at the University of Kentucky. They offered up to $1 million in cash prizes to engineers who could develop AI programs capable of reading the carbonized papyrus.

The scrolls cannot be unrolled physically because the heat from the eruption had turned them into charcoal. Instead, some scrolls held at the Institut de France in Paris were imaged at the Diamond Light Source particle accelerator near Oxford. These high-resolution CT scans revealed the hidden text inside the rolled-up scrolls. The images were then released to the public, allowing teams of engineers and academics worldwide to try to decode them.

The grand prize of the challenge was collected by Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor, and Julian Schilliger. The trio split a $700,000 bounty for their success. They created a deep learning program that analyzed a rolled-up scroll and decoded four passages. Each passage contained about 140 characters, with at least 85 percent of the characters legible. This achievement demonstrated that AI could successfully identify ink density differences within the carbonized layers.

Nader, Farritor, and Schilliger recovered pages from On Vices, written by Philodemus. Philodemus was a Greek philosopher who lived in Pompeii nearly 200 years before the eruption. He lived centuries after Epicurus, the prominent Athenian thinker whose ideas are found in the scrolls. On Vices has received special attention over the decades. This is not only because of its philosophical content but also because Philodemus addresses specific friends in one of the books. He mentions Quintilius Varus, Varius Rufus, Plotius Tucca, and the great poet Vergil. Knowing who read these texts helps historians understand the social and intellectual circles of ancient Pompeii.

Scientists led by the University of Naples Federico II have succeeded in fully unwrapping one scroll virtually. The scroll contains almost 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) of text. The team is currently working to render the 20 columns of text fully legible. Federica Nicolardi, an assistant professor in papyrology at the university, shared the status of the scroll at an international press conference. She noted the dramatic improvement in readability.

"While a few isolated letters were visible, overlapping layers obscured the writing, and the scroll was assigned a readability score of zero. But now, with virtual unwrapping, we can follow sustained arguments across multiple columns. That’s a transformational shift."

Nicolardi also highlighted the age of the artifact. The scroll’s handwriting and internal references suggest it dates from the second century BC or possibly the late third century BC. This makes it one of the oldest scrolls in the Herculaneum collection. Understanding the age helps scholars place the philosophical ideas in their proper historical context.

Legible parts of the text include references to two key concepts in Greek philosophy: horme and phronesis. Horme is translated as impulse or desire, while phronesis is translated as practical wisdom. In Stoic and Greek philosophy, horme is something to guard against because it can lead to irrational behavior. In contrast, phronesis is considered one of the highest virtues. It represents the ability to make wise decisions based on reason and experience.

The scroll contains a direct quote illustrating this philosophy:

"We will inquire into something, but we will not grasp it, if in some way we depart from ourselves and from our own nature."

This text suggests that true understanding requires staying true to one’s rational nature. It avoids being distracted by fleeting impulses. This insight provides a rare glimpse into the Stoic training of mind that was valued by educated Romans.

Additional work was done on another scroll which revealed the headline On Gods: Book 8. This title was surprising because On Gods was not previously known as a multi-book series. Scholars did not know the work existed, nor did they know it was long enough to fill eight installments. The existence of Book 8 suggests that Philodemus or another author wrote a much larger and more complex work on theology than previously assumed.

This discovery changes our understanding of the library’s contents. It indicates that the collection included extensive theological discussions. These discussions would have been central to the philosophical debates of the time. The ability to read more books in the series could reveal how ancient thinkers viewed the divine.

Undoubtedly, more of these scrolls will be decoded as the years progress. The methods used to decode them are still young and will continue to be refined. As AI models become more sophisticated, researchers will likely recover more text with greater accuracy. This work offers a unique window into the minds of ancient people. It allows modern readers to hear from authors who lived nearly two millennia ago.

The Vesuvius Challenge has inspired a new generation of scientists and historians. It shows how technology can solve problems that have resisted human effort for centuries. The collaboration between engineers, computer scientists, and classicists is creating new fields of study. These fields will likely yield more discoveries about the Classical World.

The recovery of these texts is not just about reading old words. It is about reconstructing the intellectual landscape of an ancient city. It reveals what people cared about, how they reasoned, and what they feared. The burned scrolls are no longer silent. They are speaking again, thanks to the power of AI and particle physics. This story of recovery continues to unfold, offering new insights with every breakthrough.