ancient greek author title oxford herculaneum scroll 1234741247

Researchers have identified the title and author of a charred scroll from Herculaneum, which was buried by the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Using X-ray imaging and AI analysis at the Diamond synchrotron facility in Oxfordshire, they determined the scroll is part of the multivolume work *On Vices* by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, dating to the 1st century CE. The scroll is one of three from the Villa of the Papyri housed at the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford University, and its contents had been unknown for 2,000 years. The discovery was awarded the $60,000 first title prize from the Vesuvius Challenge, an international competition that uses AI to decipher the unopenable scrolls.