SloveniaModern technology, including artificial intelligence, has helped decipher the text on a nearly 2,000-year-old carbonized scroll from Herculaneum, which was preserved during the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The eruption destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum but also preserved countless details about daily life at the time. Among the items discovered in the ruins were scrolls stored by wealthy residents, which were carbonized by pyroclastic flows but retained their shape. Hundreds of such scrolls have been found, but their content remained a mystery until now. New technologies allow researchers to virtually unroll and read the texts without damaging the fragile scrolls. Recently, experts achieved a historic breakthrough by fully virtually unrolling one scroll and revealing almost 1.5 meters of text arranged in 20 columns. This scroll, labeled PHerc. 1667, was among many from Herculaneum buried under volcanic material. It is believed to have belonged to a villa once owned by Julius Caesar’s uncle. The collection of scrolls from Herculaneum is the only extensive library from classical antiquity that has survived to the present day.
Tendenz-Einschätzung (Mitte): The article discusses an archaeological discovery involving ancient scrolls and technological advancements used to study them. There is no mention of political figures, policies, or contentious issues. The focus is purely on historical research and scientific innovation, making the subject apolitcal
