#ancient scrolls

[graphicabyss]

Sunshine is not innocent.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Carbonised Papyrus

University of Kentucky researchers challenged computer scientists to reveal contents of carbonised papyrus, a ‘potential treasure trove for historians,’ as they use AI to read word on ancient scroll burned by Vesuvius in 79 AD.

When blast from eruption of Mount Vesuvius reached Herculaneum in 79 AD, it burned 100s of ancient scrolls to a crisp in library of a luxury villa and buried Roman town in ash and pumice.

Disaster appeared to have destroyed scrolls for good, but nearly 2000 years later, researchers have  extracted first word from one of texts, using artificial intelligence to peer deep inside delicate, charred remains.

Discovery was announced on 12 October 2023 by Prof Brent Seales, a computer scientist at University of Kentucky and others who launched Vesuvius challenge in March to accelerate reading of texts.

Backed by Silicon Valley investors, challenge offers cash prizes to researchers who extract legible words from the carbonised scrolls.

“This is first recovered text from one of these rolled-up, intact scrolls,” said Stephen Parsons, a staff researcher on digital restoration initiative at university.

Researchers have since uncovered more letters from ancient scroll.

To launch Vesuvius challenge, Seales and his team released 1000s of 3D X-ray images of two rolled-up scrolls and three papyrus fragments.

They also released an artificial intelligence program they had trained to read letters in scrolls based on subtle changes that ancient ink made to structure of papyrus.

Unopened scrolls belong to a collection held by Institut de France in Paris and are among 100s recovered from library at villa thought to be owned by a senior Roman statesman, possibly Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, father-in-law of Julius Caesar.

Two computer science students, Luke Farritor in Nebraska and Youssef Nader in Berlin, who took up Vesuvius challenge, improved search process and independently hit on same ancient Greek word in one of scrolls: “πορφύραc,” meaning “purple.”

Farritor, who was first to find word, wins $40,000 with Nader winning $10,000.

Race is now on to read surrounding text. Dr Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at University of Naples Federico II, said three lines of scroll, containing up to 10 letters, were now readable with more expected to come.

A recent section shows at least four columns of text.

“This word is our first dive into an unopened ancient book, evocative of royalty, wealth and even mockery,” Seales said.

What this particular scroll is discussing is still unknown, but I believe it will soon be revealed. An old, new story that starts for us with ‘purple’ is an incredible place to be.”

“Pliny the Elder explores ‘purple’ in his ‘natural history’ as a production process for Tyrian purple from shellfish.

Gospel of Mark describes how Jesus was mocked as he was clothed in purple robes before crucifixion.

What this particular scroll is discussing is still unknown, but I believe it will soon be revealed. An old, new story that starts for us with ‘purple’ is an incredible place to be.”

As only intact library to survive from antiquity, there is immense interest in Herculaneum scrolls.

Most of texts analysed so far are written in ancient Greek, but some may be Latin texts.

Fragments have revealed letters from Philodemus’s work On Vices and Opposite Virtues, and details of Hellenistic dynastic history.

“Strong suspicion is that non-philosophical part of library remains to be discovered and here fantasy runs riot: new plays of Sophocles, poems of Sappho, Annals of Ennius, lost books of Livy and so on,” said Robert Fowler, emeritus professor of Greek at University of Bristol.

“It would be great too to find so-called documentary papyri; letters, business papers, and so on; these would be treasure-trove for historians.”

“Reading words from within Herculaneum scrolls is like stepping onto moon,” Seales added.

“Honestly, I knew that text was there, waiting for us to arrive, but arrival only happens at last step. And with such a talented team working together, reading words is that step into new territory and we’ve taken it."

© The Guardian

[blueiscoool]

Title and Author of a Herculaneum Scroll Decoded After 2,000 Years

Researchers working to decipher the contents of a burned, still-rolled scroll have uncovered both the author and the title of the text nearly 2,000 years after it was buried in the Mount Vesuvius eruption.

The scroll — named PHerc. 172 — is one of hundreds from the ancient Roman town of Herculaneum, which was buried under volcanic debris when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, according to the Vesuvius Challenge, an initiative focused on decoding the texts of the Herculaneum scrolls without needing to unroll them.

Preserved under mud and ash in a villa believed to have been once owned by the father-in-law of Julius Caesar, the scrolls were discovered by an Italian farmer in the 18th century.

Burned so badly they were carbonized, they are extremely fragile. Over the years, scholars have tried a range of methods to unroll them, including using weights, chemicals, gases and pulverization, though this often led to the scrolls being damaged or destroyed.

The Vesuvius Challenge was launched in 2023 to encourage researchers from around the world to try and decipher the scrolls by virtually unwrapping and decoding them.

Now, Marcel Roth and Micha Nowak, graduate students from Germany’s University of Würzburg, have uncovered the title and author of PHerc. 172. Vesuvius Challenge researcher Sean Johnson made the same discovery around the same time, and both findings were independently reviewed by the competition’s papyrological team, according to a Tuesday press release from Oxford University’s Bodleian Libraries, where the scroll is housed.

The text deciphered identifies the scroll as “On Vices” by the Greek philosopher Philodemus, according to the Vesuvius Challenge. It is a part of Philodemus’ ethical treatise known in full as “On Vices and Their Opposite Virtues and In Whom They Are and About What,” and could even be the first book in the series, though this is not yet clear.

Oxford University’s Bodleian Libraries suggests that the book number could “plausibly” be read as an alpha, which would indicate that the scroll is book one in the series, but it could also be other numbers, such as a delta, which would mean it is book four.

Scholars have generally thought that the first book of “On Vices” was a text called “On Flattery,” but the content of PHerc. 172 does not correspond with this.

Philodemus, according to the Bodleian Libraries, was an Epicurean philosopher whose teachings “emphasise the pursuit of pleasure as central to a good life.” The majority of the scrolls found preserved in the Herculaneum villa were his works, Bodleian Libraries said.

Michael McOsker, a researcher in papyrology at University College London, who is also a member of the Vesuvius Challenge papyrology team, called the new discovery a “very exciting development.”

“Other books from the On Vices and their Opposite Virtues are known from the papyri that were physically unrolled — best known are On Property Management (book 9, presumably the opposite virtue to greed) and On Arrogance (book 10, presumably the opposite vice to having a correct evaluation of yourself), but there are others too,” McOsker said.

“This will be a great opportunity to learn more about Philodemus’ ethical views and to get a better view of the On Vices as a whole, especially if it turns out to be the first book,” McOsker said.

This find, the first time a scroll’s title has been read, is the latest from the Vesuvius Challenge.

In October 2023, the first full word from one of the unopened ancient papyri was decoded with the help of computer technology and advanced artificial intelligence. The word was “πορφυρας” or “porphyras,” which is Greek for purple.

And in February, researchers investigating columns of text from PHerc. 172 identified the word “διατροπή,” meaning “disgust,” which appears twice within a few columns of text, the Bodleian Libraries said.

By Catherine Nicholls.

[ouroborosparadox]

<33 UMBRA !!! ohhh he's so cute . yay

[kreisi-oblivion]

Now I have my favorite Astarion in Skyrim.💖😊

[vailtoset]

@painofhumanity for Stiles

Vail couldn’t remember the last time he had been home to Beacon Hills. It wasn’t as though he didn’t want to come home, but between his missions in Iraq and beyond, and in the last few months the Set and Ahmanet of it all, he was unable to come home. It pained him. He missed his sisters, he missed his nephew and niece.

To say he was relieved to see his entire family was an understatement from even before Ahmanet’s time.

He had his camo on, Prodigium gave him a fake passport (not that he was particularly keen on working with them, but Jenny did help him save the world…and Jekyll, that was another matter), and his canvas duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

He took a deep breath as he knocked on his sister’s door, a grin on his face at the prospect of a hint of normalcy again, despite the monster rattling around his head, trying to control him.

Family was what he needed.

[occvltswim]

不動明王 (Fudō Myōō), one of the Five Guardian Kings (絹本著色五大尊像]) from Daigo-ji, Kyoto, Japan. Hanging scroll, 193.9 cm x 126.2 cm. Colour on silk. The scrolls have been designated as National Treasure of Japan in the category paintings.

[rhythmicreverie]

Once a mage, forever changed. In the mystic realm of sorcery, an apprentice sought power, unaware of the cost. The master's ancient scrolls held the wisdom needed to wield this force, but the knowledge came at a price. As the moon eclipsed the sun, the apprentice tapped into the very essence of magic. Transformed, they became one with their newfound abilities. In the blink of an eye, the master's teachings had altered their existence forever. The balance of power now rested in the hands of the once-untrained, and the world was changed as a result.