In 79 CE Mount Vesuvius erupted, killing many people in the region and quickly becoming one of the most famous volcanic eruptions in history. The city around this mountain was covered under volcanic rock and ash, including large numbers of scrolls and other writings that are now lost to history.

Some scrolls, however, were not lost entirely. One group of scrolls were held in the estate of a wealthy Roman statesman at the Villa Papyri and after the eruption, they were buried under the rock and ash in such a way that they became carbonized. They remained there until the 1700s when they were rediscovered.

While they cannot be opened due to the carbonization and other damage, their secrets are not entirely lost thanks to modern technology.

With the goal of finding out exactly what the scrolls said, the Vesuvius Challenge was started, which incentivizes researchers to find ways to ‘read’ the scrolls without damaging them or unrolling them. This may seem impossible on the surface, but thanks to modern ink detection methods, it can be done.

In fact, it now has been done, at least for the title of one of the scrolls.

The contest offered $60,000 to anyone who could determine the title of this scroll. Marcel Roth of Julius Maximilian University of Wurzburg and Micah Nowak of Gray Swan AI won that prize while also contributing significantly to the science of ink detection methods. The title was also independently read by Sean Johnson of the Vesuvius Challenge research team, which means the title was double verified as being accurate.

So, what was the title? On Vices by Philodemus.

Philodemus was an Epicurean poet and philosopher who was popular during that time period. He is believed to have died between 40 and 35 BCE. In addition to the title, the teams also identified a book number, which they think says “Book 1.” This would kind of fit since the On Vices book is actually a series of 10 books that cover various vices of the time including greed, arrogance, flattery, etc.

The full title of the book is almost certainly, “On Vices and Their Opposite Virtues and In Whom They Are and About What.” This is a well known series of books that historians have been aware of for some time thanks to other copies being found.

The layout of the page is unusual in that it has the book number on the line with the main title, which would not normally be the case for this type of scroll. Some people believe that this may be a draft copy of the book, but there are also clues that suggest that is not the case (the title was decorated with dashes above and below it, for example). For the moment, researchers will have to be content simply knowing what the title was, and continue to try to learn more about this interesting piece of history.

Ink detection methods are continuing to improve, allowing researchers to learn more about what was written in scrolls that have been heavily damaged or cannot be opened for fear of damaging them.

As this science evolves, it is likely that the teams will be able to unlock more secrets from this and many other ancient scrolls.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about 50 amazing finds on Google Earth.