Scientists develop new method for deciphering ancient scrolls
Summary
Ars Technica reports on a study tied to the Vesuvius Challenge where researchers created contemporary model Herculaneum scrolls with varying lead-based ink to screen for promising pages. They combined digital unwrapping, CT imaging, and machine learning to identify lead-based ink, publishing the work in PLoS ONE. The approach advances scanning-based decipherment but notes limitations in applying results to the real scrolls.