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'''''PHerc. Paris. 4''''' is a [[Carbonization|carbonized]] scroll of [[papyrus]], dating to the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. Part of a corpus known as the [[Herculaneum papyri]], it was buried by hot-ash in the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] city of [[Herculaneum]] during the [[eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD]]. It was subsequently discovered in excavations of the [[Villa of the Papyri]] from 1752–1754. Now held by the [[Institut de France]] in its rolled state, it is now known to be a cornerstone example of non-invasive reading, where in February 2024, an announcement was made that the scroll's contents can be unveiled with the use of non-invasive [[imaging]] and [[machine learning]] [[artificial intelligence]], paving the way towards the decipherment and scanning of other Herculaneum papyri and otherwise heavily damaged texts.<ref name="mocella_brun_2015">{{Cite journal | |
'''''PHerc. Paris. 4''''' is a [[Carbonization|carbonized]] scroll of [[papyrus]], dating to the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. Part of a corpus known as the [[Herculaneum papyri]], it was buried by hot-ash in the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] city of [[Herculaneum]] during the [[eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD]]. It was subsequently discovered in excavations of the [[Villa of the Papyri]] from 1752–1754. Now held by the [[Institut de France]] in its rolled state, it is now known to be a cornerstone example of non-invasive reading, where in February 2024, an announcement was made that the scroll's contents can be unveiled with the use of non-invasive [[imaging]] and [[machine learning]] [[artificial intelligence]], paving the way towards the decipherment and scanning of other Herculaneum papyri and otherwise heavily damaged texts.<ref name="mocella_brun_2015">{{Cite journal |last1=Mocella |first1=Vito |last2=Brun |first2=Emmanuel |last3=Ferrero |first3=Claudio |last4=Delattre |first4=Daniel |date=2015-01-20 |title=Revealing letters in rolled Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast imaging |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms6895 |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=5895 |doi=10.1038/ncomms6895 |pmid=25603114 |bibcode=2015NatCo...6.5895M |issn=2041-1723}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Ancient scrolls charred by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius unveil some of their secrets |url=https://www.esrf.fr/home/UsersAndScience/Publications/Highlights/highlights-2015/cbs/cbs10.html |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=[[European Synchrotron Radiation Facility]]}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Piercy |first=Lindsey |date=6 February 2024 |title='Grand Prize' discovery made from 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scrolls |url=https://www.research.uky.edu/news/grand-prize-discovery-made-2000-year-old-herculaneum-scrolls |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=[[University of Kentucky]]}}</ref><ref name="marchant-2024">{{Cite journal |last=Marchant |first=Jo |date=2024-02-05 |title=First passages of rolled-up Herculaneum scroll revealed |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00346-8 |journal=[[Nature (magazine)|Nature]] |language=en |doi=10.1038/d41586-024-00346-8 |pmid=38316998 |s2cid=267497364 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref>'''<br />''' |
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== Background and provenance == |
== Background and provenance == |
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[[File:ARA 1809 V01 D032 Apparatus used to unroll the Herculenean papyri.jpg|thumb|Apparatus used to unroll the Herculenean papyri (1809)]] |
[[File:ARA 1809 V01 D032 Apparatus used to unroll the Herculenean papyri.jpg|thumb|Apparatus used to unroll the Herculenean papyri (1809)]] |
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The [[Villa of the Papyri]] was buried during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, subjecting the scrolls to temperatures of 310–320°C, compacting them and converting them to [[charcoal]]. The first scrolls were uncovered in 1752, with subsequent excavations uncovering more scrolls. There were attempts to unroll the scrolls, as the contents were realized to contain writings by [[Classical philosophy|classical philosophers]] from schools such as [[Epicureanism]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2015-10-30 |title=Daniel Delattre: the Herculaneum scrolls given to Consul Bonaparte (2010) |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030232207/http://www.napoleon.org/en/magazine/interviews/files/476891.asp | |
The [[Villa of the Papyri]] was buried during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, subjecting the scrolls to temperatures of 310–320°C, compacting them and converting them to [[charcoal]]. The first scrolls were uncovered in 1752, with subsequent excavations uncovering more scrolls. There were attempts to unroll the scrolls, as the contents were realized to contain writings by [[Classical philosophy|classical philosophers]] from schools such as [[Epicureanism]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2015-10-30 |title=Daniel Delattre: the Herculaneum scrolls given to Consul Bonaparte (2010) |url=http://www.napoleon.org/en/magazine/interviews/files/476891.asp |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Internet Archive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030232207/http://www.napoleon.org/en/magazine/interviews/files/476891.asp |archive-date=30 October 2015 }}</ref> |
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''PHerc. Paris. 4'' was amongst a set of six scrolls that entered its present day location at the [[Institut de France]]. They were a [[diplomatic gift]], made to commemorate peace between the [[Kingdom of Naples and Sicily]], under the reign of [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand IV]] and [[Napoleon]], with the negotiations mediated by Charles Alquier.<ref name=":5" /> |
''PHerc. Paris. 4'' was amongst a set of six scrolls that entered its present day location at the [[Institut de France]]. They were a [[diplomatic gift]], made to commemorate peace between the [[Kingdom of Naples and Sicily]], under the reign of [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand IV]] and [[Napoleon]], with the negotiations mediated by Charles Alquier.<ref name=":5" /> |
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After the virtual unrolling of the [[En-Gedi Scroll]] in 2015, Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the [[University of Kentucky]], spearheaded the effort to uncover the Herculaneum corpus through non-invasive means.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sample |first=Ian |last2= |first2= |date=2024-02-05 |title=AI helps scholars read scroll buried when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/05/ai-helps-scholars-read-scroll-buried-when-vesuvius-erupted-in-ad79 |access-date=2024-02-08 |work=[[The Guardian]] |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> |
After the virtual unrolling of the [[En-Gedi Scroll]] in 2015, Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the [[University of Kentucky]], spearheaded the effort to uncover the Herculaneum corpus through non-invasive means.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sample |first=Ian |last2= |first2= |date=2024-02-05 |title=AI helps scholars read scroll buried when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/05/ai-helps-scholars-read-scroll-buried-when-vesuvius-erupted-in-ad79 |access-date=2024-02-08 |work=[[The Guardian]] |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> |
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On 15 March 2023, [[Nat Friedman]], former CEO of [[GitHub]], advisor of [[Midjourney]], and [[Daniel Gross (entrepreneur)|Daniel Gross]] of [[Cue (search engine)|Cue]], upon hearing a lecture by Seales, launched the Vesuvius Challenge to utilize machine learning and new imaging techniques of the papyri using the [[Diamond Light Source]] particle accelerator to create an improved scan of the ''PHerc. Paris. 4,'' which was completed in 2019 and subsequently released to the public''.'' The scans were completed at a resolution of 4-8 μm per [[voxel]]. <ref name="mocella_brun_2015" /><ref name=marchant-2024 /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Marchant |first=Jo |date=2023-10-12 |title=AI reads text from ancient Herculaneum scroll for the first time |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03212-1 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/d41586-023-03212-1 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref> |
On 15 March 2023, [[Nat Friedman]], former CEO of [[GitHub]], advisor of [[Midjourney]], and [[Daniel Gross (entrepreneur)|Daniel Gross]] of [[Cue (search engine)|Cue]], upon hearing a lecture by Seales, launched the Vesuvius Challenge to utilize machine learning and new imaging techniques of the papyri using the [[Diamond Light Source]] particle accelerator to create an improved scan of the ''PHerc. Paris. 4,'' which was completed in 2019 and subsequently released to the public''.'' The scans were completed at a resolution of 4-8 μm per [[voxel]]. <ref name="mocella_brun_2015" /><ref name=marchant-2024 /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Marchant |first=Jo |date=2023-10-12 |title=AI reads text from ancient Herculaneum scroll for the first time |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03212-1 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/d41586-023-03212-1 |pmid=37828217 |s2cid=263967131 |issn=0028-0836}}</ref> |
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The Vesuvius Challenge raised {{Usd|1 million}}, with an objective of clear readings of the scroll and the future objective of reading other carbonized, sealed fragments of the Herculaneum corpus, with a distant objective towards excavating more portions of the Villa of the Papyri in order to recover more scrolls.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Council |first=Stephen |date=22 September 2023 |title=Rich Bay Area donors funding $1M contest to solve ancient puzzle |url=https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/bay-area-donors-contest-solve-ancient-puzzle-18383605.php |access-date=2024-02-10 |work=[[SFGate]]}}</ref> |
The Vesuvius Challenge raised {{Usd|1 million}}, with an objective of clear readings of the scroll and the future objective of reading other carbonized, sealed fragments of the Herculaneum corpus, with a distant objective towards excavating more portions of the Villa of the Papyri in order to recover more scrolls.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Council |first=Stephen |date=22 September 2023 |title=Rich Bay Area donors funding $1M contest to solve ancient puzzle |url=https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/bay-area-donors-contest-solve-ancient-puzzle-18383605.php |access-date=2024-02-10 |work=[[SFGate]]}}</ref> |
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Seales described of the decades of work in non-invasive decipherment that "With humility, we acknowledge the non-linear — and often unpredictable — outcomes of research, which is rarely expected, and not ever guaranteed, to lead directly to success".<ref name=":4" /> |
Seales described of the decades of work in non-invasive decipherment that "With humility, we acknowledge the non-linear — and often unpredictable — outcomes of research, which is rarely expected, and not ever guaranteed, to lead directly to success".<ref name=":4" /> |
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In an interview with [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']], Nat Friedman described the contents of the scroll as "a 2000 year old blog post, arguing with another poster", and "it's ancient [[Substack]], and people are beefing with each other, and I think that's just amazing".<ref name="time2024">{{Cite |
In an interview with [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']], Nat Friedman described the contents of the scroll as "a 2000 year old blog post, arguing with another poster", and "it's ancient [[Substack]], and people are beefing with each other, and I think that's just amazing".<ref name="time2024">{{Cite magazine |last=Henshall |first=Will |date=2024-02-05 |title=An Ancient Roman Scroll on Pleasure Was Just Decoded Using AI |url=https://time.com/6691588/ancient-roman-scroll-decoded-ai/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> |
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The goal of the Vesuvius Challenge for 2024 has extended the objective towards deciphering 90% of the scrolls contents in addition to other fragments held by the Institut de France.<ref name=marchant-2024 /><ref name=time2024 /> |
The goal of the Vesuvius Challenge for 2024 has extended the objective towards deciphering 90% of the scrolls contents in addition to other fragments held by the Institut de France.<ref name=marchant-2024 /><ref name=time2024 /> |
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Revision as of 18:22, 11 February 2024
| PHerc. Paris. 4 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Epicurean philosophy |
| Material | Carbonized papyrus |
| Width | 16 cm |
| Discovered | 1752-1754 Herculaneum |
| Present location | Institut de France |
| Language | Greek |
| Culture | Roman |
PHerc. Paris. 4 is a carbonized scroll of papyrus, dating to the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. Part of a corpus known as the Herculaneum papyri, it was buried by hot-ash in the Roman city of Herculaneum during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was subsequently discovered in excavations of the Villa of the Papyri from 1752–1754. Now held by the Institut de France in its rolled state, it is now known to be a cornerstone example of non-invasive reading, where in February 2024, an announcement was made that the scroll's contents can be unveiled with the use of non-invasive imaging and machine learning artificial intelligence, paving the way towards the decipherment and scanning of other Herculaneum papyri and otherwise heavily damaged texts.[1][2][3][4]
Background and provenance
The Villa of the Papyri was buried during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, subjecting the scrolls to temperatures of 310–320°C, compacting them and converting them to charcoal. The first scrolls were uncovered in 1752, with subsequent excavations uncovering more scrolls. There were attempts to unroll the scrolls, as the contents were realized to contain writings by classical philosophers from schools such as Epicureanism.[5]
PHerc. Paris. 4 was amongst a set of six scrolls that entered its present day location at the Institut de France. They were a diplomatic gift, made to commemorate peace between the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, under the reign of Ferdinand IV and Napoleon, with the negotiations mediated by Charles Alquier.[5]
In 1803, a tribute of vases and the scrolls arrived in France under the supervision of Francesco Carelli and was personally exhibited to Napoleon and Joséphine whereupon they entered the collection of the Institut.[5]
Of the scrolls that entered the collection, PHerc. Paris. 3 and Paris. 4 remain intact. Paris. 1 exist in fragments and bits, Paris. 2 is better preserved, Paris. 5 exploded upon unpeeling, and Paris. 6 is considered crumbled.[5]
Unscrolling and reading
The 20th century yielded progress in the readings of Herculaneum texts utilizing microscopes, digital photography and multispectral filters approaching the usage infrared spectroscopy to gain better clarity of the texts.[1]
In 2015, PHerc. Paris. 1 and PHerc. Paris. 4 were studied side by side, with Paris. 1 having a history of successful limited readings in 1986-1987, with sequences of letters such as "ΠIΠTOIE" and words such as "EIΠOI" (Greek: "would say") proving decipherable.[1]
Utilizing a pre-filtered X-ray beam with a double Laue monochromator to convert to a mono-chromatic X-ray beam, the first letters of the unrolled scroll proved identifiable.[1]
After the virtual unrolling of the En-Gedi Scroll in 2015, Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky, spearheaded the effort to uncover the Herculaneum corpus through non-invasive means.[6][7]
On 15 March 2023, Nat Friedman, former CEO of GitHub, advisor of Midjourney, and Daniel Gross of Cue, upon hearing a lecture by Seales, launched the Vesuvius Challenge to utilize machine learning and new imaging techniques of the papyri using the Diamond Light Source particle accelerator to create an improved scan of the PHerc. Paris. 4, which was completed in 2019 and subsequently released to the public. The scans were completed at a resolution of 4-8 μm per voxel. [1][4][8]
The Vesuvius Challenge raised US$1 million, with an objective of clear readings of the scroll and the future objective of reading other carbonized, sealed fragments of the Herculaneum corpus, with a distant objective towards excavating more portions of the Villa of the Papyri in order to recover more scrolls.[7]
On October 2023, 21 year old college student and SpaceX intern Luke Farritor and physicist Carey Handmer identified the word "porphyras" (πορϕυρας) or "purple" on the scroll utilizing neural networking to differentiate the paper and the ink; Farritor subsequently won US$40,000 for his find.[4][8]
On 5 February 2024, the Grand Prize, for reading PHerc. Paris. 4, was awarded to Farritor, ETH Zurich robotics student Julian Schillinger, and Free University of Berlin Egyptian Ph.D student Youssef Nader for recovering 11 columns of text, or 2000 characters total, which is about 5% of the contents of the scroll.[2][3][4]
The uncovered text is believed to be written by Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, and is an unrecorded text about pleasure and how it is affected by the abundance or scarcity of items, to which Philodemus disagreed writing "As too in the case of food, we do not right away believe things that are scarce to be absolutely more pleasant than those which are abundant".[3][4]
Reactions
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II papyrology professor Federica Nicolardi praised the discovery declaring "It's extremely exciting to be reading entire words, not just sequences of letters, from within a scroll", and expressing confidence in further future decipherment of the scroll.[3][4]
Seales described of the decades of work in non-invasive decipherment that "With humility, we acknowledge the non-linear — and often unpredictable — outcomes of research, which is rarely expected, and not ever guaranteed, to lead directly to success".[3]
In an interview with Time, Nat Friedman described the contents of the scroll as "a 2000 year old blog post, arguing with another poster", and "it's ancient Substack, and people are beefing with each other, and I think that's just amazing".[9]
The goal of the Vesuvius Challenge for 2024 has extended the objective towards deciphering 90% of the scrolls contents in addition to other fragments held by the Institut de France.[4][9]
References
- ^ a b c d e Mocella, Vito; Brun, Emmanuel; Ferrero, Claudio; Delattre, Daniel (20 January 2015). "Revealing letters in rolled Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast imaging". Nature Communications. 6 (1): 5895. Bibcode:2015NatCo...6.5895M. doi:10.1038/ncomms6895. ISSN 2041-1723. PMID 25603114.
- ^ a b "Ancient scrolls charred by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius unveil some of their secrets". European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Piercy, Lindsey (6 February 2024). "'Grand Prize' discovery made from 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scrolls". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Marchant, Jo (5 February 2024). "First passages of rolled-up Herculaneum scroll revealed". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-024-00346-8. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 38316998. S2CID 267497364.
- ^ a b c d "Daniel Delattre: the Herculaneum scrolls given to Consul Bonaparte (2010)". Internet Archive. 30 October 2015. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Sample, Ian (5 February 2024). "AI helps scholars read scroll buried when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ a b Council, Stephen (22 September 2023). "Rich Bay Area donors funding $1M contest to solve ancient puzzle". SFGate. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ a b Marchant, Jo (12 October 2023). "AI reads text from ancient Herculaneum scroll for the first time". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-03212-1. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 37828217. S2CID 263967131.
- ^ a b Henshall, Will (5 February 2024). "An Ancient Roman Scroll on Pleasure Was Just Decoded Using AI". Time. Retrieved 8 February 2024.