New AI technique helps decipher ancient scrolls buried by Mt. Vesuvius eruption
• Deciphering the ancient scrolls of Herculaneum buried by Mt. Vesuvius eruption in 79AD • Library of 2,000 papyrus scrolls discovered in 1700s but texts inside remained largely inaccessible • Brent Seales pioneered virtual unwrapping technique using X-rays & AI to read scrolls without opening • Students Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor & Julian Schilliger used machine learning to decipher text from one scroll • Vesuvius Challenge offers $700k prize for deciphering 90% of 4 scanned scrolls, unlocking more ancient knowledge