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LAVANGA HAS MORE IN OUR BREAKDOWN.
THESE ANCIENT SCROLLS HAVE BEEN CALLED THE MOST INACCESSIBLE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE WORLD. THEY WERE FOUND IN THE 18TH CENTURY, AMONG THE RUINS OF A VILLA OWNED BY THE FATHER IN LAW OF JULIUS CAESAR IN HERCULANEUM, AN ANCIENT ROMAN TOWN BURIED BY THE VESUVIUS ERUPTION IN 79 A.D. THAT ALSO DESTROYED NEARBY POMPEII. ENTOMBED IN VOLCANIC ASH FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, THESE PAPYRUS SCROLLS WERE INTACT, BUT MOST OF THEM WERE SO BADLY CARBONIZED, ANY ATTEMPT TO UNWRAP THEM COULD TURN THEM INTO ASH. THE ANCIENT TEXT INSIDE LOCKED AWAY FOR ALMOST 2000 YEARS UNTIL NOW.
THIS IS A COMPLETE UNWRAP OF THE ENTIRE SCROLL.
ON THURSDAY, AMERICAN AND ITALIAN RESEARCHERS SAY THEY MANAGED TO VIRTUALLY UNWRAP SEVERAL SCROLLS AND UNVEIL NEW TEXTS, TITLES AND AUTHORS UNKNOWN TO HISTORY, USHERING A NEW ERA FOR THE STUDY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. IN THEM, EXPERTS FOUND PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHTS LIKE WE WILL INQUIRE INTO SOMETHING, BUT WE WILL NOT GRASP IT. IF IN SOME WAY WE DEPART FROM OURSELVES AND FROM OUR OWN NATURE. IN ANOTHER ONE, THE AUTHOR APPEARS TO PRAISE PRACTICAL WISDOM.
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE THE CLASSICAL PERIOD, AND WE FEEL A DISTANCE FROM THAT CULTURE. AND THEN YOU READ THE WORDS, AND THEN THE DISTANCE SHRINKS IMMEDIATELY. IT'S LIKE I COULD BE HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH YOU AT A CAFÉ IN PARIS ABOUT THAT TODAY. YOU KNOW.
THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY DEVELOPED THE VIRTUAL UNWRAPPING TECHNIQUE YEARS AGO, BUT THE INK IN THE HERCULANEUM SCROLLS WAS STILL INVISIBLE TO THE HUMAN EYE. SO IN 2023, THEY LAUNCHED $1 MILLION VESUVIUS CHALLENGE. THEY MADE THE SCROLLS IMAGES PUBLIC AND CHALLENGED PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO FIND A WAY TO READ THEM. WITHIN MONTHS, THREE STUDENTS, INCLUDING AN AMERICAN, USED AI TO READ THE FIRST LETTERS IN ANCIENT GREEK FROM THE PAPYRUS AND SHARED THE PRIZE. SINCE THEN, RESEARCHERS SAY THEY MANAGED TO READ 10% OF THE SCROLLS, AND IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL THEY UNWRAP THEM.
ALL IS A COMPLETELY NEW WORLD FOR FOR US, FOR OUR RESEARCH.
ON THURSDAY, THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ANNOUNCED A NEW MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE FOR THE FIRST PERSON WHO MANAGES TO READ ANY OF THE PAPYRUS IN FULL BY JUNE OF NEXT YEAR.
I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER WAY TO LOSE SIX MONTHS OF YOUR LIFE THAN DOING THIS.
WITH HUNDREDS MORE TO ANALYZE. THEY WILL NOT ONLY UNWRAP THE SCROLLS, BUT ALSO THE SECRETS WITHIN, GIVING US A GLIMPSE INTO AN ANCIENT PAST WHERE PHILOSOPHERS QUESTIONED THE WORLD THE SAME WAY WE DO TODAY. THIS IS TRULY HISTORY.