Detail

Philosopher Graziano Ranocchia of the University of Pisa and his colleagues used artificial intelligence to decipher the text preserved in burnt papyrus fragments found in Herculaneum, an ancient Roman city located near Pompeii. Like Pompeii, Herculaneum was destroyed when the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD covered the area with ash and pyroclastic flows.

One of the scrolls charred by the explosion contains the writings of Philodemus of Hadar (110-30 BC), an Epicurean philosopher who studied in Athens and later lived in Italy. This text, known as the History of the Academy, dates back to Plato’s B.C. It describes in detail the academy he founded in the 4th century and includes information about Plato’s life as well as his burial place.

With the advancement of technology, scientists have been able to apply a variety of advanced techniques, such as infrared and ultraviolet optical imaging, thermal imaging, and tomography, to read the ancient papyrus, which is now part of the collection of the National Library of Naples.

Currently researchers identified 1,000 words, or approximately 30% of the text written by Philodemus.

Among the most important news, we read that Plato was buried in the garden of the Academy in Athens (a special area reserved for the Platonic school), near the place sacred to the Muses, called the Museion or sacellum. Until now, it was only known that he was buried on the grounds of the Academy.
– says the study.

• The text also details how Plato was “sold into slavery” between 404 and 399 BC (previously thought to have occurred in 387 BC).
• Another part of the translated text describes a dialogue between characters in which Plato belittles the musical and rhythmic abilities of a barbarian musician from Thrace.

This isn’t the first time researchers have used artificial intelligence to read ancient scrolls that survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Earlier this year, researchers deciphered another charred scroll found among the ruins of a villa that once belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law.