X-rays reveal letters in carbonized scrolls

X-ray technology has been employed to detect words and letters in ancient scrolls carbonized by the eruption that destroyed Pompeii.

Scientists have read ancient scrolls not opened since they were carbonized by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius almost 2,000 years ago. Although only a few letters have been deciphered so far, classical scholars hope that the advance could lead to the rediscovery of lost Greek or Roman works of literature in hundreds of papyri that are too fragile to unroll and read.

“It is a revolution for papyrologists,” says Vito Mocella, a physicist at the Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems in Naples, Italy…

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Story: Richard Van Noorden, Nature | Photo: Nature