An enormous wealth of knowledge locked within hundreds of ancient papyrus scrolls scorched by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, may now be revealed thanks to new technology which may enable the texts to be read.
The new technique, published in the journal Nature Communications, involves a type of X-ray phase-contrast tomography, which enables letters to be highlighted based on their slightly raised height on the papyrus. So far, six scrolls have been analyzed with this method and the resulting text is currently undergoing translation.
– See more at: http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/secrets-2000-year-old-scorched-scrolls-herculaneum-020175#sthash.IiPdGdv7.dpuf
The full paper – http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150120/ncomms6895/full/ncomms6895.html
