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Herculaneum scroll
(Image: bbc.co.uk) |
The BBC reported that a European-led scientific team used a 3-D X-ray tool to read a fragile scroll found near the southern Italian archaeological site of Herculaneum. The original document was nearly burned to a crisp during the volcanic eruption that destroyed Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum in 79 A.D. Today, the scrolls simply fall apart at the slightest touch, which is why the X-ray technique offers some hope of reading the scripts on them.
The significance of the project cannot be underestimated. The reliability and completeness of ancient texts remain a moving target. To obtain material from antiquity that's as authentic and true as possible profoundly adds to our understanding of the ideas that shaped generations, and continues to do so.
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