Could this rewrite our history? Three students and an AI programme have found a way to read a set of ancient books — for the first time in 2,000 years.
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Unlocked: 2,000-year-old blog on life's joys
Could this rewrite our history? Three students and an AI programme have found a way to read a set of ancient books - for the first time in 2,000 years.
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">What's happening? </h2>
In the 1800s, people began digging up the ancientVery old. town of HerculaneumAn ancient city that was buried under volcanic ash after the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79. It is close to Pompeii. . It had been buried in ash when the volcano Vesuvius erupted in 79AD.
The diggers found a whole library in a villa buried under the ash. Now, with the help of AIA computer programme that has been designed to think. , experts have begun to read the scrolls.
The scrolls have been locked away for 300 years. This is because they were so burnt, any time anyone tried to read one it would fall apart.
Now, there has been a miracle. On Monday it was announced that three students had managed to read 2,000 Greek letters from one of the scrolls using a CT scanA computed tomography scan - a medical imaging technique usually used to make images of inside the body. and an AIA computer programme that has been designed to think. programme.
They have already worked out that the scrolls were written by Philodemus, a philosopherA thinker who comes up with ideas about big questions in life. . They hope his writing could tell us lots about the ancient world.
There are lots more books to read. But there is just one problem. It costs £79 per centimetre to read the books, so it might be a long time until we have read them all!
Could this rewrite our history?
<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Find out more </h2>
Yes! Philodemus could tell us so much we do not know about the ancient world. This could change everything we thought was true.
No! All of the really important texts were copied many times and saved. So it is likely that Philodemus's thoughts were not really that interesting!
Ancient - Very old.
Herculaneum - An ancient city that was buried under volcanic ash after the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79. It is close to Pompeii.
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
CT scan - A computed tomography scan - a medical imaging technique usually used to make images of inside the body.
Philosopher - A thinker who comes up with ideas about big questions in life.
Unlocked: 2,000-year-old blog on life’s joys
Out of the ashes: The scrolls come from a single library preserved by the volcanic ash. Glossary
Ancient - Very old.
Herculaneum - An ancient city that was buried under volcanic ash after the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79. It is close to Pompeii.
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
CT scan - A computed tomography scan — a medical imaging technique usually used to make images of inside the body.
Philosopher - A thinker who comes up with ideas about big questions in life.