First passages of Herculaneum scroll are DECIPHERED by AI: Students use program to read more than 2,000 words on charred papyrus buried by Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79AD

The famous Herculaneum scroll, charred papyrus found buried by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79AD, has been deciphered by artificial intelligence. The feat was achieved by students in a contest that trained algorithms on scans of the artifact, which would otherwise be destroyed if unraveled by human hands. The winning team read more than 2,000 'never-before-seen' texts that discussed sources of pleasure, such as music, the taste of capers and the color purple. The winning team read more than 2,000 'never-before-seen' texts, which discussed sources of pleasure, such as music, the taste of capers and the color purple The Vesuvius Challenge was launched in March 2023 by Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky, and Silicon Valley backers. At the time, Seales released thousands of 3D images of two rolled-up scrolls, as well as an AI program that had been trained to read letters in the marks left by ink.