Title of work deciphered in sealed Herculaneum scroll via digital unwrapping

The Bodleian Libraries and the Vesuvius Challenge have announced that for the first time researchers have found the title and author inside of a sealed scroll from Herculaneum. Using ‘virtual unwrapping’, the scroll PHerc. 172 which is housed at the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford has been identified as On Vices by the Greek philosopher Philodemus. The ethical treatise, known in full as On Vices and Their Opposite Virtues and In Whom They Are and About What, provides guidance for cultivating a virtuous life. In recognition of this achievement, researchers have been awarded the Vesuvius Challenge First Title Prize which includes prize money of $60,000. Following the scanning of the scroll in July 2024 at the Diamond Light Source in Harwell, the Vesuvius Challenge released the data publicly, inviting researchers worldwide to contribute to deciphering the text. While the first images of the inside of the scroll were published in February 2025, the discovery of the title p ... Read full article.