Scientists decode messages from scrolls burned by Mt. Vesuvius


Thanks to X-ray technology, scientists in Naples, Italy, are reading papyrus scrolls that were burned in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.
The scrolls were recovered from the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum, near Pompeii, roughly 260 years ago. The texts were burned black by hot volcanic gases and were thought to be lost, since they couldn't be unrolled.
The scientists have analyzed the first lines of two scrolls, CNET reports. So far, they've deciphered two words: On one line, they've made out a Greek word that means "would fall," and another word that means "would say." The scientists also used the X-ray technology to analyze one of the scrolls' handwriting and have attributed it to the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The findings could have implications for other long-lost texts from ancient philosphers, The New York Times reports. The scrolls were found at a library in a Herculaneum villa, thought to have been home to Julius Caesar's father-in-law. The library contains more than 300 scrolls, so these findings could be just the beginning.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
May 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its prey
Speed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocket
Speed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes
-
Scientists map miles of wiring in mouse brain
Speed Read Researchers have created the 'largest and most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date,' said Nature
-
Scientists genetically revive extinct 'dire wolves'
Speed Read A 'de-extinction' company has revived the species made popular by HBO's 'Game of Thrones'