Secrets of Roman Scrolls

Imagine you could step into a library of ancient Rome and read the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Or Homer’s Odyssey. Perhaps the first translations of the Gospels.

One day soon, you may be able to do just that.

That’s because archeologists found a room filled with Roman papyrus scrolls.

They had been covered in volcanic ash, like in Pompeii, and the heat had carbonized them -- basically turned them to charcoal.

Various attempts to read the scrolls, peeling apart their brittle layers, had destroyed some. Thankfully, many were preserved, waiting for some new technology … which may now have arrived.

A computer scientist used x-ray tomography to create highly detailed 3D scans of the scrolls. Then used software to digitally “unroll” them, creating flattened pages that would be readable…

Except, their ink had burned the same color as the charred papyrus. So he posted his scans online and invited scientists around the world to have a go.

Using new machine learning and AI, several researchers – including some students -- made out letters. Then words. And eventually whole passages.

The growing global team has now deciphered a few entire scrolls, and already found a book that was never known to exist. And they’re just getting started.

Their work will not only yield a better understanding of Roman life. They may discover things that “re-read” the history of the ancient world.