* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, August 23, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    From polka to Poison, Corn Palace adjusts entertainment offerings with the times – Mitchell Republic

    From polka to Poison, Corn Palace adjusts entertainment offerings with the times – Mitchell Republic

    How to watch ‘F1: The Movie’ on Prime Video – About Amazon

    Experience the Thrill: How to Stream ‘F1: The Movie’ on Prime Video

    FOX One is now available on Prime Video: Here’s everything to know – About Amazon

    FOX One is now available on Prime Video: Here’s everything to know – About Amazon

    What Are Our Predictions for Taylor Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl’ Based on What She’s Told Us So Far? – yahoo.com

    Uncover the Hidden Surprises in Taylor Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl’ – Can You Decode Her Clues?

    Bama Dining Serving Up New Food, Entertainment – UA News Center

    Bama Dining Launches Thrilling New Food and Entertainment Experiences

    The latest on Williams-Brice Stadium renovations, entertainment district – On3

    Discover the Thrilling New Upgrades Coming to Williams-Brice Stadium and Its Vibrant Entertainment District!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Why Technology Will Never Take Over Completely – Patheos

    Why Technology Will Never Completely Control Our Lives

    Alcorn State awarded grant to boost STEM with VR technology – WJTV

    Alcorn State Secures Grant to Transform STEM Education Through Cutting-Edge VR Technology

    Hyundai: The Only Way To Beat China Is To Embrace Technology – InsideEVs

    Hyundai’s Bold Strategy to Outpace China with Cutting-Edge Technology

    Teaching older adults how to use technology – WWNY

    Empowering Older Adults to Master Technology with Confidence

    Denver man receives pacemaker using new technology – CBS News

    Denver Man’s Life Transformed by Revolutionary Pacemaker Technology

    Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

    Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    From polka to Poison, Corn Palace adjusts entertainment offerings with the times – Mitchell Republic

    From polka to Poison, Corn Palace adjusts entertainment offerings with the times – Mitchell Republic

    How to watch ‘F1: The Movie’ on Prime Video – About Amazon

    Experience the Thrill: How to Stream ‘F1: The Movie’ on Prime Video

    FOX One is now available on Prime Video: Here’s everything to know – About Amazon

    FOX One is now available on Prime Video: Here’s everything to know – About Amazon

    What Are Our Predictions for Taylor Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl’ Based on What She’s Told Us So Far? – yahoo.com

    Uncover the Hidden Surprises in Taylor Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl’ – Can You Decode Her Clues?

    Bama Dining Serving Up New Food, Entertainment – UA News Center

    Bama Dining Launches Thrilling New Food and Entertainment Experiences

    The latest on Williams-Brice Stadium renovations, entertainment district – On3

    Discover the Thrilling New Upgrades Coming to Williams-Brice Stadium and Its Vibrant Entertainment District!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Why Technology Will Never Take Over Completely – Patheos

    Why Technology Will Never Completely Control Our Lives

    Alcorn State awarded grant to boost STEM with VR technology – WJTV

    Alcorn State Secures Grant to Transform STEM Education Through Cutting-Edge VR Technology

    Hyundai: The Only Way To Beat China Is To Embrace Technology – InsideEVs

    Hyundai’s Bold Strategy to Outpace China with Cutting-Edge Technology

    Teaching older adults how to use technology – WWNY

    Empowering Older Adults to Master Technology with Confidence

    Denver man receives pacemaker using new technology – CBS News

    Denver Man’s Life Transformed by Revolutionary Pacemaker Technology

    Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

    Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

2,000 new characters from burnt-up ancient Greek scroll deciphered with AI

February 10, 2024
in Science
2,000 new characters from burnt-up ancient Greek scroll deciphered with AI
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Damaged ancient papyrus scrolls dating back to the 1st century CE are finally being deciphered by the Vesuvius Challenge contest winners using computer vision and AI machine learning programs. The scrolls were carbonized during the eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE and have been all-but-inaccessible using normal restoration methods, as they have been reduced to a fragile, charred log. Three winners–Luke Farritor (US), Youssef Nader (Egypt), and Julian Schilliger (Switzerland)–will split the $700,000 grand prize after deciphering roughly 2,000 characters making up 15 columns of never-before-seen Greek texts.

[Related: AI revealed the colorful first word of an ancient scroll torched by Mount Vesuvius.]

In October 2023, Farritor, a 21-year-old Nebraska native and former SpaceX intern won the challenge’s “First Word” contest after developing a machine learning model to parse out the first few characters and form the word Πορφύραc—or porphyras, ancient Greek for “purple.” He then teamed up with Nader and Schlinder to tackle the remaining fragments using their own innovative AI programs. The newly revealed text is an ancient philosopher’s meditation on life’s pleasures—and a dig on people who don’t appreciate them.  

Video simulations and depictions of the AI-empowered researchers at work. Credit: The Independent.

A 1,700 year journey

The scrolls once resided within a villa library believed to belong to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law, south of Pompeii in the town of Herculaneum. Upon its eruption, Mount Vesuvius’ historic volcanic blast near-instantly torched the library before subsequently burying it in ash and pumice. The carbonized scrolls remained lost for centuries until rediscovered by a farmer in 1752. Over the next few decades, a Vatican scholar utilized an original, ingenious weighted string method to carefully “unroll” much of the collection. Even then, the monk’s process produced thousands of small, crumbled fragments which he then needed to laboriously piece back together.

Fast forward to 2019, and around 270 “Villa of the Papyri” scrolls still remained inaccessible—a lingering mystery prompting a team at the University of Kentucky to 3D scan the archive and launch the Vesuvius Challenge in 2023. After releasing open-source software alongside thousands of 3D X-ray scans made from three papyrus fragments and two scrolls, challenge sponsors offered over $1 million in various prizes to help develop new, high-tech methods for accessing the unknown contents.

According to a February 5 post on X from competition sponsor Nat Friedman, the first scroll’s final 15 columns were likely penned by Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, and discuss “music, food, and how to enjoy life’s pleasures.”

According to the Vesuvius Challenge announcement, two columns of the scroll, for example, center on whether or not the amount of available food influences the level of pleasure diners will feel from their meals. In this case, the scroll’s author argues it doesn’t: “[A]s too in the case of food, we do not right away believe things that are scarce to be absolutely more pleasant than those which are abundant.”

“In the closing section, he throws shade at unnamed ideological adversaries—perhaps the stoics?—who ‘have nothing to say about pleasure, either in general or in particular,’” Friedman also said on X.

Although much more remains to be uncovered, challenge organizers have previously hypothesized the scrolls could include long-lost works including the poems of Sappho.

Contest co-winnder Luke Farritor discusses his methodology. Credit: University of Nebraska–Lincoln

But despite the grand prize announcement, the Vesuvius Challenge is far from finished—the newly translated text makes up just 5 percent of a single scroll, after all. In the same X announcement, Friedman revealed the competition’s next phase: a new, $100,000 prize to the first team to retrieve at least 90 percent of the four currently scanned scrolls.

At this point, learning the ancient scrolls’ contents is more a “when” than an “if” for researchers. Once that’s done, well, huge sections of the Villa of the Papyri remain unexcavated. And within those ruins? According to experts, potentially thousands more scrolls await eager eyes.

Andrew Paul

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Popular Science – https://www.popsci.com/technology/vesuvius-scrolls-ai-deciphered/

Tags: burnt-upcharactersscience
Previous Post

The best fire starters for camping and fireplaces

Next Post

Three new ancient shark species discovered in Alabama and Kentucky

A Home at the End of the World – atmos.earth

Discover Your Sanctuary: A Home at the End of the World

August 23, 2025
CWI officially opens new Health and Science Building – Idaho Business Review

CWI Unveils Cutting-Edge Health and Science Facility Transforming Education

August 23, 2025
Scientists found the missing nutrients bees need — Colonies grew 15-fold – ScienceDaily

Breakthrough Discovery: Key Nutrients That Supercharge Bee Colonies by 15 Times

August 23, 2025
If boomers did these 7 things today, they’d be called “toxic” by millennials – VegOut

If boomers did these 7 things today, they’d be called “toxic” by millennials – VegOut

August 23, 2025
Why Technology Will Never Take Over Completely – Patheos

Why Technology Will Never Completely Control Our Lives

August 23, 2025

Paulina Ruiz Clinches Gold for Colombia in a Thrilling Triumph

August 23, 2025
Putin wants to attend 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S. “very badly,” Trump says – Axios

Putin Eager to Attend 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S., Says Trump

August 23, 2025
How the semiconductor boom and ASU are transforming Arizona’s economy – ASU News

How the semiconductor boom and ASU are transforming Arizona’s economy – ASU News

August 23, 2025
From polka to Poison, Corn Palace adjusts entertainment offerings with the times – Mitchell Republic

From polka to Poison, Corn Palace adjusts entertainment offerings with the times – Mitchell Republic

August 23, 2025
Luther College to host discussion exploring links between soil and food health – Luther College

Luther College to host discussion exploring links between soil and food health – Luther College

August 23, 2025

Categories

Archives

August 2025
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (786)
  • Economy (806)
  • Entertainment (21,685)
  • General (16,630)
  • Health (9,846)
  • Lifestyle (819)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (808)
  • Politics (815)
  • Science (16,019)
  • Sports (21,305)
  • Technology (15,787)
  • World (787)

Recent News

A Home at the End of the World – atmos.earth

Discover Your Sanctuary: A Home at the End of the World

August 23, 2025
CWI officially opens new Health and Science Building – Idaho Business Review

CWI Unveils Cutting-Edge Health and Science Facility Transforming Education

August 23, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version