Scientists decode messages from scrolls burned by Mt. Vesuvius

(Image credit: Keystone/Stringer/Getty Images)

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.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.