AI unlocks 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scrolls, hinting at a Stoic work
Researchers from the Vesuvius Challenge digitally unwrapped two Herculaneum scrolls (PHerc. 1667 and PHerc. 172) using high‑resolution imaging and AI, revealing about 5 feet of Greek text across 20 columns on PHerc. 1667 and more than 70 columns from PHerc. 172. The deciphered passages appear to be a Stoic treatise on ethics and behavior, possibly referencing Aristocreon, the nephew of Chrysippus, and date to the 2nd–3rd century BCE—well earlier than Philodemus. This breakthrough, achieved with synchrotron imaging and papyrologist analysis, marks a milestone in reading carbonized scrolls and hints at many more unread texts among the roughly 600 unopened Herculaneum scrolls.