Contents of 2,000-year-old scroll badly burnt by Mount Vesuvius revealed for the first time using incredible technique AN ANCIENT scroll that had nearly turned to charcoal in the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD may be about to have its secrets revealed.
"We're confident we will be able to read pretty much the whole scroll in its entirety, and it's the first time we've really been able to say that with high confidence," said Stephen Parsons, project lead for the Vesuvius Challenge, an international competition attempting to unlock the Herculaneum scrolls.
AI algorithms, particularly those using deep learning, can segment layers of text by identifying and separating individual layers of the scroll from 3D X-ray data, isolating the text for analysis.
The ancient text was an example of Greek Epicurean philosophy - which the Bodleian's scroll is also expected to be.
The scroll was discovered in Herculaneum, an ancient Roman town that was buried under the massive volcanic cloud from Mount Vesuvius.
