Story perspectives

AI X-ray Scan Reveals Lost Stoic Treatise in Herculaneum Scroll

6/26/2026

Summary

Vesuvius Challenge Decodes

On June 25, 2026, Vesuvius Challenge researchers used AI and X-ray microtomography at the Synchrotron Radiation Facility to read a carbonised Herculaneum scroll.
The 2 µm scan revealed 5 m of text across 20 columns and suggests a Stoic treatise possibly by Chrysippus.
Led by Brent Seales and Federica Nicolardi, the team uncovered 70 columns of Philodemus’s “On Vices, Book 1”, identified PHerc.139 as “On Gods, Book 8”, and added 140 columns in 24 hours.

Summary

Researchers Uncover

Researchers identified the charred papyrus fragment PHerc 1667 from a luxury Roman villa library in Herculaneum.
The fragment measures about 8 cm tall and 2 cm wide, representing half of the original scroll.
It contains 20 columns of previously hidden Stoic philosophy, more than a metre of text.
The scroll dates to the second or late-third century BC and illustrates how the AD 79 eruption both destroyed and preserved Roman literary culture.

History

Historical Context

In 1738 Charles VII of Naples launched the first systematic Herculaneum dig, uncovering the Villa of the Papyri and carbonized scrolls later catalogued by Antonio de’ Bianchi—about 30 rolls for the Royal Society. Today Brent Seales and Federica Nicolardi apply AI-driven X-ray microtomography at the Synchrotron Radiation Facility, revealing more than five metres of hidden Stoic text.

1 of 3

Vesuvius Challenge Decodes

On June 25, 2026, Vesuvius Challenge researchers used AI and X-ray microtomography at the Synchrotron Radiation Facility to read a carbonised Herculaneum scroll.
The 2 µm scan revealed 5 m of text across 20 columns and suggests a Stoic treatise possibly by Chrysippus.
Led by Brent Seales and Federica Nicolardi, the team uncovered 70 columns of Philodemus’s “On Vices, Book 1”, identified PHerc.139 as “On Gods, Book 8”, and added 140 columns in 24 hours.

1 / 3