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X-ray phase-contrast tomography and computational “virtual unrolling” let researchers inspect writing inside fragile, carbonized Herculaneum scrolls while leaving them physically rolled. The method has revealed Greek letters, words, and passages, but each stage—from imaging to scholarly interpretation—matters, and early readings were partial rather than complete books.
Why the Herculaneum scrolls are so difficult to read
The scrolls were carbonized when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. Discovered at the Villa of the Papyri in the mid-18th century, they preserve Greek philosophical and literary writing, including works associated with Philodemus. The National Endowment for the Humanities describes the collection as containing about 1,800 scrolls (NEH).
Carbonization preserved the scrolls in a form that is exceptionally fragile. Their layers are compressed, folded, and sometimes twisted together, so physically opening one can cause damage. Imaging has its own challenge: carbon-based ink and carbonized papyrus have similar composition and density, making them hard to distinguish with conventional absorption-based X-ray tomography.
How can scientists read a scroll without unrolling it?
1. Image the still-rolled scroll
Researchers scan the object with X-rays while it remains rolled. The 2016 study used synchrotron X-ray phase-contrast tomography at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Phase contrast makes subtle differences in the X-rays’ passage through materials more visible than ordinary absorption imaging can in this case (ESRF’s 2015 report; the 2016 study).
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2. Reconstruct the scroll in three dimensions
The scan data are reconstructed into a 3D volume. Researchers then identify the papyrus surfaces within the densely packed, distorted layers. This is a reconstruction problem, not a process in which an X-ray image simply displays a readable page.
3. Virtually flatten the layers
Computational procedures segment the papyrus surfaces and map them into flattened images that can be examined like pages. Because the layers may be irregular or tangled, this step can require substantial manual or semi-manual work. “Virtual unrolling” refers to this digital reconstruction and flattening; the physical scroll itself stays rolled.
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4. Identify and interpret the marks
Specialists inspect the flattened surfaces for ink traces, then assess whether the traces form Greek letters and words. The surface distortions can deform letters, so readings may require proposed reconstructions. Imaging reveals evidence; it does not automatically transcribe or translate a text.
What did tomography reveal in the scrolls?
The 2015 demonstration
An ESRF report in 2015 described Greek letters and words recovered from Herculaneum papyri, including nearly an entire alphabet from one sample. It demonstrated that the imaging approach could reveal writing within rolled papyri; it was not a complete reading of a scroll (ESRF).
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The 2016 readings
A 2016 study reported Greek letter sequences, words, textual portions, and a coronis—a mark used to indicate a division such as the end of a section, chapter, or book—in two unopened rolls, PHerc. 375 and PHerc. 495 (Bukreeva et al.). These were partial readings, not complete editions or translations. The authors attributed both rolls to Philodemus with high probability based on handwriting; they suggested PHerc. 495 might belong to his On Rhetoric, but treated that identification as a possibility.
Later milestones: 2023–24 and 2026
The NEH reports that researchers identified the Greek word porphyras (“purple”) in 2023–24 and then decoded the first full passage from the scrolls (NEH project page). In 2026, the Vesuvius Challenge announced that PHerc. 1667 had been completely virtually unwrapped and read for extended scholarly study (Vesuvius Challenge). These developments belong to a later stage of the work and should not be confused with the limited passages reported in 2016. A successful digital reading of one scroll does not establish that the whole collection can now be read.
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What “virtual unwrapping” does—and does not—mean
Virtual unwrapping is not literal physical opening, nor is it a single automatic translation step. It combines tomographic imaging, 3D reconstruction, layer segmentation, digital flattening, detection of ink traces, and specialist transcription and interpretation. Computational and machine-learning-assisted methods can contribute to parts of this process, but scholars still have to evaluate the marks, handle gaps, and determine what the text means.
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The technique’s value is that it can expose writing without subjecting a fragile scroll to the risks of physical unrolling. Its limits are equally important: distortions can obscure or warp letters, segmentation is difficult, and the evidence may support only fragments or provisional readings. The cited reports do not establish a general accuracy rate or a percentage of the collection that can be read.
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Which books were found at the Villa of the Papyri?
The Villa’s surviving library includes Greek philosophical and literary works, with material associated with the philosopher Philodemus among the papyri. Identifying an individual scroll’s author or work is a scholarly conclusion based on evidence such as handwriting and readable text—not a guaranteed result of scanning. For the 2016 rolls, Philodemus was considered highly probable, while the proposed connection between PHerc. 495 and On Rhetoric remained tentative.
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