Scientists made replica papyrus scrolls and deliberately charred them to mimic the carbonized scrolls found at sites like Herculaneum. The goal was to study how burning affects papyrus structure, informing techniques used to decode ancient scrolls without physically unrolling them.
nature.com
· 2026-09-25
Scientists used advanced imaging and computational techniques to read the text of an ancient scroll that was carbonized nearly 2,000 years ago during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, without physically opening the fragile artifact. The breakthrough combined technical innovation, scientific experimentation, and collaboration across multiple disciplines to recover writing long assumed unrecoverable.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-22
Scientists studying the carbonized Herculaneum scrolls have created an artificial scroll and charred it to mimic the effects of the Vesuvius eruption, aiming to test whether lead traces in ancient ink can help reveal hidden text. The experiment is meant to validate imaging techniques before they are applied to the fragile, irreplaceable originals.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-18