By-Srushti Sharma
Researchers recently used cutting-edge technology to read a word from an irreparably damaged manuscript.
An old manuscript that was charred and carbonised by Mount Vesuvius' devastating eruption was read by an artificial intelligence programme.
A villa in Herculaneum thought to have belonged to Julius Caesar's father-in-law was buried under hot mud and ash in 79 AD after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Unfolding the scrolls would shatter them into bits, making them impossible to read. The heat from the volcanic material carbonised the scrolls.
However, they are also kept safe. The fascinating thing is that the scrolls are protected from air deterioration because of this special storage situation.
The scrolls are said to hold the keys to "Roman and Greek philosophy, science, literature, mathematics, poetry, and politics," according to researchers.
A few letters were recovered by the scholars from the papyrus scroll. Furthermore, they were able to read the word "porphyras" in its whole. Its meaning is "purple" in ancient Greek.
These manuscripts were composed by human hands during a period when global faiths were developing
The Roman Empire remained in power, and numerous regions of the globe remained uncharted territory.