CT scans to "unroll" the scorched papyri from Herculaneum

I am always excited when someone tackles the challenge of trying to unroll the charred scrolls from Piso's library in Herculaneum. Although many scholars think the library mostly contains epicurean works, I keep hoping for copies of lost books written by Piso's son-in-law, Julius Caesar. According to ancient sources, Caesar dabbled in a variety of literary genres including poetry and even a joke book. I think it would be very revealing to discover what Caesar found humorous.

[Image - Brent Seales, a University of Kentucky computer science professor, specializes in reading ancient manuscripts using computer scans. On the screen behind him is a scan of the earliest complete copy of Homer's Illiad, from the 10th century A.D. On the screen at right is a carbonized scroll from ancient Herculaneum that Seales and his team will try to read using an X-ray CT scan. Photo by David Stephenson]

Brent Seales, the Gill professor of engineering in UK's computer science department, will use an X-Ray CT scanning system to collect interior images of the scrolls' [from the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum] rolled-up pages. Then, he and his colleagues hope to digitally "unroll" the scrolls on a computer screen so scholars can read them.

Seales admits that there are hurdles, the biggest being the carbon-based ink thought to have been used on the scrolls. He says that since the papyrus in the scrolls was turned to carbon by the fury of Vesuvius, it might be impossible to visually separate the writing from the pages, even with powerful computer programs.

"The open question is, will we be able to read the writing?" Seales said. "There is a chance that we won't be able to do it with our current machine, and that we'll have to re-engineer some things. But if that's the case, that's what we will do." - More: Lexington Herald-Leader

Ceremonial Throne Found in the Villa of the Papyri

An ancient Roman wood and ivory throne has been unearthed at a dig in Herculaneum, Italian archaeologists said on Tuesday, hailing it as the most significant piece of wooden furniture ever discovered there.

The throne was found during an excavation in the Villa of the Papyri, the private house formerly belonging to Julius Caesar's father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, built on the slope of Mount Vesuvius.

The name of the villa derives from the impressive library containing thousands of scrolls of papyrus discovered buried under meters (yards) of volcanic ash after the Vesuvius erupted on 24 August 79.

Restoration of the throne is still ongoing with restorers painstakingly trying to piece back together parts of the ceremonial chair.

While other wooden objects have been dug out in nearby Pompeii, experts have never before found such a significant ceremonial piece of furniture.

ittle is known about how the throne would have been used but the elaborate decorations discovered on the chair celebrate the mysterious cult figure of Attis. The most precious relief shows Attis, a life-death-rebirth deity, collecting a pine cone next to a sacred pine tree. Other ornaments show leaves and flowers suggesting the theme of the throne is that of spring and fertility.

The cult of Attis is documented to have been strong in Herculaneum the first century AD.

Excavation to resume on Basilica in Herculaneum

Although Herculaneum was discovered over two centuries ago, work on the site halted in 1999 because of fears about the conservation of the site. Because the site lies four metres below the waterline, it is constantly flooded. In addition, the previous dig unearthed an unexpected complex of buildings that needed urgent restoration.

Meanwhile, the first work on the main site of Herculaneum for almost 30 years could begin as early as next year, with the aim of unearthing a collection of public records that will reveal the daily life of the city.

Unlike Pompeii, Herculaneum was almost perfectly preserved after the eruption of Vesuvius, down to the tiniest detail. However, the site, which was only discovered by mistake during the 18th century, mostly lies underneath a modern-day suburb of Naples.

"The parts we have excavated so far are only around a third of the entire site," said Dr. Andrew Wallace-Hadrill. "But it is a bit difficult to expropriate the land to excavate the Villa dei Papyri, since it lies underneath the modern town hall," he joked.

"Many of the cellars of the modern houses are only a metre or so above the Ancient Roman ruins," he added. The grotty tenements of modern Herculaneum lean precariously over the excavation site. The area is now a stronghold of the Camorra, or Neapolitan Mafia, and buying up land to continue excavating has been near-impossible.

However, Dr Wallace-Hadrill revealed that digging on the Basilica would begin next year. "The breakthrough was that two palazzi collapsed last year, which convinced the residents above that it was not safe," he said.

The new excavation work will be funded by a £1.5 million grant from the Packard Humanities Institute, founded by a scion of Hewlett Packard computer empire. The work on the Villa dei Papyri is being funded by a £2 million-a-year grant from the European Union and the Region of Campania.

"We know what is underneath because of tunnels dug in the 18th century, which brought up all sorts of statues and frescoes," said Mr Wallace-Hadrill. The Basilica, which would have served as a town meeting hall, should contain public records of life in Herculaneum that would be invaluable to classical historians.

Last year, the first complete painted statue ever found, the bust of an Amazon warrior, was unearthed from near the Basilica.