![]() ![]() It has been demonstrated the potential benefit of applying this technique to trace handwriting hidden inside the scrolls. 3 used X-ray Phase Contrast Tomography (XPCT) to study Herculaneum papyrus rolls and fragments. Data analysis showed a tortured shape and no writing traces were recovered. The first application of micro-CT on two intact Herculaneum papyri took place in 2009 1. X-ray micro computed tomography (micro-CT) provides papyrus digitization and three-dimensional visualization of the scroll interior. In this framework, non-invasive and non-destructive X-ray imaging techniques are an ideal tool for analyzing fragile artefacts without damaging them. Therefore, the priceless information contained in them is unreachable without a non-invasive approach. The poor conditions in which the papyri were found make them too fragile for any effort of manual opening. Modern conservation principles impose to preserve the integrity of historical documents, and any attempt to open them must be avoided if there is a risk of losing the information they contain, also at the cost of leaving them untouched for an indefinite period. Unfortunately, even under the best conditions, much of the text had been lost during this process: few unrolled parts of papyrus gave a considerable number of continuous and legible columns without large damages. Finally, after 1753, Father Antonio Piaggio invented a machine for unrolling the manuscripts, based on the movement of a screw which gradually spread out the rolls on a strip of pig or sheep bladder. On the one hand, the carbonization of the papyri allowed their conservation, on the other it made them similar to pieces of burnt wood, very fragile and extremely difficult to unroll without losing large portions of the scroll.Ī considerable number of rolls was destroyed or damaged within the first years after their finding: many scrolls had been thrown away as mere charcoal others were split into two parts longitudinally to discover their contents, with irreversible effect on their integrity. In this light, reading the papyri still rolled up or the fragments, made up of several layers stuck together, could disclose unpublished ancient texts.Ĭarbonization, due to the Vesuvian catastrophe in 79 d.C., and the natural effects of time on organic substances (humidity and considerable pressure) during Seventeenth centuries, have contributed to the artefacts’ degradation. This is the only great ancient library that remained fundamentally intact, which contains many precious texts not handed down by Medieval manuscript tradition, as it was revealed by the papyri mechanically unrolled (or partially unrolled) in the past. ![]() More than two and a half centuries have passed since this extraordinary finding brought to light the unique treasure of the ancient library of Villa dei Papiri. The Herculaneum papyri were discovered in 1752. This work paves the way to a comprehensive survey and to further interpretation of larger portions of text hidden inside the carbonized Herculaneum papyri. We propose a computational platform for the virtual unfolding procedure, and we show the results of its application on two Herculaneum papyrus fragments. Although this procedure is feasible, problems in segmentation and flattening hinder the unrolling of a large portion of papyrus. One of the challenging tasks in Herculaneum papyri investigation is their virtual unfolding because of their highly complicated structure and three-dimensional arrangement. However, only small portions of the text hidden inside the scroll have been recover. X-ray phase contrast tomography has recently begun unlocking their secrets. Vesuvius eruption, contain valuable writings of the Greek philosophers of the day, including works of the Epicurean Philodemus. ![]() Ancient Herculaneum papyrus scrolls, hopelessly charred in the 79 A.D. ![]()
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