--- title: "Lead traces broke the Herculaneum scroll decipherment out of a dead end: AI learns to find 'readable' scrolls" description: "Researchers presented a method for identifying Herculaneum scrolls with lead ink: it is their text that AI and X-rays read best, which will accelerate decipherment." date: 2026-09-18T05:14:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ai-decipher-herculaneum-scrolls-lead-traces tags: [herculaneum-scrolls, vesuvius-challenge, artificial-intelligence, x-ray-scanning, ancient-manuscripts, archaeology] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Lead traces broke the Herculaneum scroll decipherment out of a dead end: AI learns to find 'readable' scrolls ![Следы свинца вывели расшифровку свитков Геркуланума из тупика: ИИ научился находить «читаемые» свитки](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/19/ii-razashifruet-svitki-gerkulanuma-sledy-svintsa/ii-razashifruet-svitki-gerkulanuma-sledy-svintsa-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - A method for identifying Herculaneum scrolls with lead ink has been published in PLOS — these are the ones that are best suited to X-ray decipherment and AI processing. - The problem of low contrast in carbon (soot) ink is solved by selecting scrolls based on the presence of lead, which stands out brightly on tomograms. - A compact portable X-ray fluorescence scanner allows for the rapid selection of priority scrolls, accelerating the Vesuvius Challenge project. Almost two millennia after volcanic gases turned papyrus into brittle charcoal, an international team of researchers has found a way to speed up the decipherment of the only surviving library of the ancient world. A method published in the professional scientific journal PLOS (PLoS ONE) makes it possible to determine which of the charred Herculaneum scrolls were written in ink containing lead. It is precisely these scrolls that are best 'seen' by X-ray methods and artificial intelligence algorithms, turning the search for readable text from a months-long trial and error into a targeted effort. ### A library locked in ash The catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD destroyed not only Pompeii but also the city of Herculaneum. In a luxurious villa that, according to one theory, belonged to the father-in-law of Julius Caesar, and according to another to the philosopher Philodemus, archaeologists discovered a library of more than 600 charred papyrus scrolls. Hot volcanic gases instantly carbonized the papyrus, turning it into fragile carbon: physically unrolling such scrolls is impossible, as they crumble to ash at the slightest touch. This is why the Vesuvius Challenge project was created to work on the text, using micro-computed tomography and AI for so-called 'virtual unrolling' of the scrolls. ### The contrast problem: why X-rays 'cannot see' the text The main obstacle to decipherment has been the nature of ancient Roman ink. Most of it was made from soot and water, that is, from carbon. Since both the papyrus and the ink consist of the same element, X-ray radiation barely distinguishes between them: the contrast is extremely low, and the silhouettes of the letters sink into the 'darkness' of the image. As a result, scientists had to spend months on complex equipment trying to find carbon words on the tomograms. ### Lead as the key: Douglas Zymler's hypothesis Inventor Douglas Zymler, together with a team of chemists and physicists, hypothesized that some of the scrolls may have been written in ink containing metals — in particular, lead. It is the presence of lead that allows X-rays to detect letters almost instantaneously. To test the hypothesis, a large-scale experiment was conducted: the charred scrolls were scanned on 3D X-ray machines at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Letters written in lead ink stood out brightly on the images, and adaptive software virtually unrolled the scrolls and read the inscriptions. ### A portable scanner instead of months of work The key practical value of the new approach lies in the speed and simplicity of selection. Now, to check a scroll, it is enough to use a compact portable X-ray fluorescence scanner that instantly determines whether a given scroll contains lead. Papyri with lead ink become top-priority candidates for full tomographic scanning. This will significantly accelerate the work of the Vesuvius Challenge project and, according to researchers' estimates, will allow dozens of previously inaccessible philosophical, historical, and literary works of antiquity to be read in the near future. ### Contradictory data Upon reviewing the publications, differences in emphasis were found. A number of outlets (including the BBC and Ukrainian media) present the news as the first full decipherment of text or at least a title from a charred scroll, whereas the main focus of the research description and the PLOS publication is on the new method for selecting scrolls based on the presence of lead, rather than on a specific piece of read text. In addition, the sources remain uncertain about the owner of the villa: either the father-in-law of Julius Caesar or the philosopher Philodemus is named. Both versions are cited without a final choice, and in the article they are reflected as such, without substituting facts. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [2,000-year-old Vesuvius scrolls to be deciphered: AI 'saw' text through the ash](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/2000-richni-suvoyi-vezuviyu-rozshifruyut-1789655836.html) - Базовый источник: методика определения свинцовых чернил, публикация в PLOS, сканирование в NIST, портативный рентгенофлуоресцентный сканер. - [AI will read the ancient archive from Herculaneum: lead traces break the decipherment out of a dead end](https://www.pravda.ru/news/science/2411350-herculaneum-scrolls-decoded/) - Подтверждает ключевую роль следов свинца для преодоления проблемы контраста. - [Scientists use AI for the first time to fully read text from a charred scroll from Herculaneum](https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/c87242ydx49o) - Акцентирует «первую полную расшифровку текста» — формулировка шире, чем описание методики в базовом тексте; учтено в блоке противоречий. - [AI for the first time deciphered the title of an 'unreadable' scroll from Vesuvius](https://korrespondent.net/tech/science/4779517-yy-vpervye-rasshyfroval-nazvanye-nechytaemoho-svytka-yz-vezuvyia) - Подаёт достижение как расшифровку названия свитка; не тождественно методике отбора по свинцу, отражено в блоке противоречий. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Why do conventional X-ray methods read the Herculaneum scrolls poorly? **A:** Because most ancient Roman inks were made from soot and water, that is, from carbon, just like the papyrus itself. As a result, the contrast between the ink and the carrier is extremely low, and X-rays barely see the letters. ### Q: How does lead help with decipherment? **A:** Lead in the ink stands out brightly on X-ray images, so the letters become visible, and software can virtually unroll the scroll and read the text. ### Q: What does the new portable scanner provide? **A:** A compact X-ray fluorescence scanner instantly determines whether a scroll contains lead. This makes it possible to select priority scrolls for full tomographic scanning and not waste months sifting through 'unreadable' carbon scrolls.