University of Pisa philosopher Graziano Ranocchia and his colleagues have used artificial intelligence to decipher text preserved on charred pieces of papyrus found in the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum near Pompeii, according to a statement from Italy’s National Research Council.
Herculaneum, like Pompeii, was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which covered the region in ash and pyroclastic flows.
One of the scrolls carbonized in the eruption contains the writings of Philodemus of Gadara (c. 110-30 BC), an Epicurean philosopher who studied in Athens and later lived in Italy. And a text called “History of the Academy” describes in detail the 4th century. Ave. me the academy founded by Plato and provides detailed information about Plato’s life, including his burial place.
Historians already knew that Plato – the famous student of Socrates who wrote down not only his teacher’s philosophy but also his own – was buried in the Academy, which was destroyed by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 86 AD. Ave. me However, the researchers were not sure where exactly in the school grounds was buried in 348 or 347. Ave. Plato died in Athens.
However, as technology has improved, researchers have been able to use a variety of cutting-edge techniques – including infrared and ultraviolet optical tracking, thermal scanning and tomography – to read the ancient papyrus, which is now part of the collection of the National Library of Naples.
So far, the researchers have identified 1,000 words, or about 30 percent. A text written by Philodemus.
“Among the most important news, we read that Plato was buried in his garden (a private area dedicated to Plato’s school) at the Academy of Athens, near the so-called Museion, or sacellum, dedicated to the Muses,” the researchers write. “Until now, all that was known was that he was buried in the Academy at all.”
The text also describes how Plato was “sold into slavery” sometime between 404 and 399. Ave. BC (previously thought to have occurred in 387 BC).
Another part of the translated text describes a dialogue between characters in which Plato shows contempt for the musical and rhythmic abilities of a barbarian musician from Thrace.
This is not the first time that scientists have used artificial intelligence to read ancient scrolls left after the eruption of Vesuvius. Earlier this year, researchers deciphered another charred scroll found in a nearby villa that once belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law.
Adapted from Live Science.
