X-Ray Scans Detect Lead Ink in 600 Herculaneum Scrolls, Aiding AI Decipherment
Updated
Updated · CNN · Sep 22
X-Ray Scans Detect Lead Ink in 600 Herculaneum Scrolls, Aiding AI Decipherment
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Sep 22
Summary
A Sept. 16 PLOS One study found X-ray tomography can clearly detect lead-containing ink in replica Herculaneum scrolls, giving researchers a faster way to identify promising texts for virtual unrolling.
Lead matters because most scrolls are carbonized papyrus written in soot-based ink—essentially dark carbon on dark carbon—while even small amounts of metal make the writing stand out for AI analysis.
More than 600 unopened scrolls remain in Naples, many crushed or fragmented, and the authors say each could be screened for lead within minutes before committing to harder decipherment work.
The team re-created ancient-style papyri, charred them to mimic AD 79 eruption conditions, and recovered readable text at every lead concentration tested, potentially also improving AI training data.
Only one full scroll and passages from others have been read so far, though the Vesuvius Challenge and earlier studies suggest even low-metal or metal-free scrolls may still be decipherable.