The ruins of Pompeii in front of Vesuvius.
Historians today viewPompeiias a valuabletime capsule of ancient life, preserved much as it was that fateful day.
Among the ruins, researchers have discovered burnt papyri scrolls known as theHerculaneum Papyri.
The ruins of Pompeii in front of Vesuvius. (Photo: Qfl247 viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0)
For the past 275 years, no one has been able to decipher the writings.
The Herculaneum papyri were found in 1750 in a villa once belonging to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law.
The ancient library had been blackened and carbonized by the heat of the eruption.
“Vesuvius Challenge” Scroll 1
Since their discovery, many of the charred scrolls have been lost.
The remaining 600 continue to present a puzzle for researchers.
Just what is on the extremely delicate scrolls?
“Vesuvius Challenge” Scroll 2
With X-ray tomography and computer vision, he unrolled the carbonized, furled scroll digitally.
This itself is acomplex digital and mathematical problem.
However, deciphering the text of the ink on the Herculaneum Papyri will be more difficult.
The Herculaneum papyri. (Photo: Sara Stabile et al. viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY 4.0)
The Vesuvius Challenge is meant to extend this AI-effort to finally reveal the secrets of the scrolls.
Vesuvius Challenge Scroll 2
The prize money is funded by entrepreneur Daniel Gross and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman.
Over $200,000 in prizes will also be announced at a later time.
Fresco of Bacchus and Agathodaemon with Mount Vesuvius, painted in Pompeii’s House of the Centenary. (Photo: WolfgangRieger viaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
For those interested in trying their hand, thedatais available online to begin work.
We’re using a particle accelerator and AI to read a lost library from a dead empire.
People have been trying to read the Herculaneum Papyri for 275 years.
With your help, we’ll do it in 2023.
(Photo: Sara Stabile et al.
