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Can the sealed Herculaneum rolls be read in full, non-invasively, at the scale of the whole library?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·4 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: the 2026 pipeline (BM18 scanning at about 2.4 µm, semi-automatic surface tracing and learned ink detection)…Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Four answers have been proposed. The 2026 pipeline (BM18 scanning at about 2.4 µm, semi-automatic surface tracing and learned ink detection)… leads, with evidence 2 for, 2 against: partly supported by its tests. Three are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, one is answered.

Why it matters

The library's value depends on reading the hundreds of rolls that cannot be opened. One partial roll has now been read in full, but it was small and already reduced by earlier opening attempts, and the current prize still asks for one complete intact roll⁠[1]⁠[2].

Answers 4

Evidence: 2 for, 2 against
Most likely
Evidence: 1 for
Still possible
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible
Evidence: 2 for
Still possible

History

  1. Brun et al.: ink composition varies across the library; some inks contain lead, which changes X-ray contrast.For: The method will read rolls that are well preserved and carry favourable ink, but heavily compressed, fused or…
  2. Parsons et al.: fragment-trained ink models in 2023 reached only about 42 per cent character recall with about 18 per cent…For: Full reading will remain limited to a few exceptional rolls; for most of the library only scattered words or…
  3. Angelotti et al. puts forward: the 2026 pipeline (BM18 scanning at about 2.4 µm, semi-automatic surface tracing and learned ink detection)…
  4. Angelotti et al.: pHerc. 1667 is only an 8 cm by 2 cm core, so its success says little about tracing a full 4 to 6 cm roll.Against: The 2026 pipeline (BM18 scanning at about 2.4 µm, semi-automatic surface tracing and learned ink detection)…
  5. Vesuvius Challenge: the 2027 Grand Prize is offered for fully unrolling one scroll from a set of 13, which implies no complete…Against: The 2026 pipeline (BM18 scanning at about 2.4 µm, semi-automatic surface tracing and learned ink detection)…
  6. Angelotti et al.: pHerc. 1667's preserved surface, about 860 square centimetres in 22 columns, was unwrapped and transcribed…For: The 2026 pipeline (BM18 scanning at about 2.4 µm, semi-automatic surface tracing and learned ink detection)…
  7. Angelotti et al.: the 2026 paper names variation in ink recipe, contaminants, deposit shape and preservation as reasons the…For: The method will read rolls that are well preserved and carry favourable ink, but heavily compressed, fused or…
  8. Asked on this site
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