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ALICE ROBERTS: 'The eruption
of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79...
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'..is perhaps the most famous
volcanic eruption in history.
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'We're all familiar with the amazing
things it preserved -
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00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,520
'the architecture and frescoes
of Pompeii...
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'..beautiful statues...
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'..and the remains
of many of the people
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'who perished that fateful day.
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'But the volcanic ash also preserved
something seemingly impossible -
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'a huge collection
of ancient scrolls.'
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What we have for the first time ever
is an ancient library.
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'These scrolls are our only link
to so much lost ancient wisdom.
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'But ever since they were discovered
over two centuries ago,
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'most attempts to open and read them
have reduced them to dust.'
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A lot of damage was done
trying to unroll them.
15
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'But that could be about to change.
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'For four years, we've had exclusive
access to the incredible work
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'being undertaken
by Professor Brent Seales.
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'His work is making headlines
across the globe,
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'as he believes
that he'll be the first person
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'in nearly 2,000 years
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00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:32,080
'to read words
inside these ancient scrolls.'
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The library basically said,
"Hell, no."
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They thought you were crazy.
I think maybe.
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SHE LAUGHS
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'We've already had
some tantalising glimpses
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'of the treasures locked inside
this invisible library...'
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We haven't got this ancient text
anywhere else.
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No. It is the only copy.
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'..and if Brent succeeds,
his work could change history.'
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What I'm now seeing
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is actually the thing
that I've been looking for.
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It's incredibly exciting.
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'Join me as I uncover
the lost scrolls of Vesuvius.'
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In the year 79 CE,
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Mount Vesuvius,
overlooking the Bay Of Naples,
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erupted with cataclysmic force.
37
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With the energy
of 100,000 atomic bombs...
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..wreaking destruction
on villages, towns and cities,
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killing an estimated 16,000 people.
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00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,760
But that destruction
left a time capsule,
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most famously at the iconic
Roman town of Pompeii,
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and here at Herculaneum,
just eight miles away,
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where the archaeological
preservation is astonishing.
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'Herculaneum was a much smaller city
than Pompeii,
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'but it was bursting
with beautiful mosaics
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'and statues and vast villas.
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'The desirable dwellings
of influential elites.
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'And even though much of it
still lies unexcavated,
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'what has been unearthed here
is far better preserved
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'than at its more famous neighbour.'
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We have multi-storey buildings,
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beautiful painted frescoes,
intricate mosaics,
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and even wooden furniture.
54
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'Herculaneum gives us
an extraordinarily authentic view
55
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'of what everyday life was like
in the Roman Empire.
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'But in fact,
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'the most precious treasures
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'to have been uncovered
at Herculaneum
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'aren't the buildings
or the gorgeous statues.
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'They're something
much more important.
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'And almost all of them
are kept here
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'in the National Library in Naples.'
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Look at these.
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I think you'd just walk past them
in a museum.
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They look like lumps of charcoal.
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Burned logs, perhaps.
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But if you look more closely,
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you can see that each one of them
is a tightly wound roll of paper.
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It's a papyrus scroll,
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carbonised at the moment
when Mount Vesuvius erupted
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nearly 2,000 years ago.
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And hundreds of these
have been excavated
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00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,600
from one villa at Herculaneum,
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representing
the only surviving library
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from the ancient world.
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The library
for us is an absolute treasure,
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because it may reveal
many more secrets
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and especially give us
many more texts
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of which we currently have no idea,
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and this is all extremely exciting.
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'The scrolls were preserved
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'because the heat of Vesuvius,
over 400 degrees Celsius,
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'transformed them
into lumps of charcoal.
84
00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:46,600
'But that same preservation
made them extremely brittle,
85
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'and almost every time
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'anyone has tried to open them
to read inside,
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'they've fallen to pieces.
88
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'These scrolls could be a goldmine
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'of lost ancient wisdom
and knowledge.
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00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:03,920
'But the secrets
locked inside them
91
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'have remained unreadable.'
92
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A lot of damage was done
trying to open them, unroll them.
93
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Every new attempt to open
these charred scrolls physically
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00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,720
is going to lose letters,
words, you know, whole columns.
95
00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,120
'One person, though,
is trying to change that.
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00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,120
'It's a mission
worthy of Indiana Jones,
97
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'but the man attempting
to reveal the secrets
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'of the lost ancient library
isn't an archaeologist.'
99
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My name is Brent Seales.
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I'm a professor of computer science
at the University of Kentucky.
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I want to be able to read
what's inside a Herculaneum scroll
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without having to open it.
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For a computer scientist
to end up stumbling
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into a world-class
archaeological site,
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00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,840
and then to think about
reading material from a library,
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00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:57,600
that was a big leap for me.
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00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,560
'We've been given exclusive access
to follow Brent
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'on his quest to read the scrolls,
and today I'm meeting him
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'at the place where
the precious scrolls are kept.'
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When did you first come here?
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00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:15,760
I came here two decades ago,
first time.
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I was completely entranced
by the idea
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that we might be able
to read something
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from inside this collection.
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'Brent's plan is to scan the scrolls
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'and then use
artificial intelligence, AI,
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'that he has designed,
to read them digitally.
118
00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:34,640
'He hopes that a computer will be
able to detect ink on the papyrus,
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00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:40,200
'allowing him to virtually unroll
the scrolls without damaging them.'
120
00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:44,840
The goal is to recover something
that looks like the original state.
121
00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:47,920
Right. And the original state
is that this papyrus
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would be unrolled flat on a table,
and someone would read it.
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00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,960
And so we want
to reverse the damage
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and recreate a version of that
that is exactly the same,
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so that a human can read
what's there.
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It is mind blowing,
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because the original discovery
of these scrolls is exciting
128
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cos you've got a library,
but then it's intensely frustrating,
129
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because you've got a library
where it's locked away.
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But with technology,
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I mean, how much of this library
do you think might be readable?
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I tend to be an optimistic person,
133
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and I think we're gonna
read everything that's there.
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That's what I think.
135
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'I admire Brent's optimism,
136
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'but he's not the first person
137
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'to have attempted
this virtually impossible task.
138
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'And this is a project
that he's already been working on
139
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'for nearly two decades.
140
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'So, what's keeping him going?'
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I'm a pretty tenacious guy.
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It's the biggest challenge,
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and it also stands
to be the biggest impact
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that I could ever have.
145
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'Coming up,
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'I want to know
what could be contained
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'inside this lost library.'
148
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I want to find more Aristotle.
It would be incredible.
149
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'And we get exclusive access
to Brent scanning the scrolls.'
150
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This is the biggest
technical challenge in my career.
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'For the past four years,
152
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'we've had exclusive access
153
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'to the work
of Professor Brent Seales
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'as he attempts to be
the first person
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'in nearly 2,000 years
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'to read carbonised papyrus scrolls
found at the archaeological site
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'of Herculaneum in modern Naples.
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'It's a seemingly impossible task,
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'but the results
could change history.'
160
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We know of many, many works
that we do not have.
161
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The Greeks made lists of things,
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so anything new
is obviously exciting.
163
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'From fragments of scrolls
164
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'that people have managed to open
in the past,
165
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'we know that the library contained
works of ancient Greek philosophy.
166
00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:18,480
'But with at least 500 scrolls
badly charred and still unopened,
167
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'the chances are
that this collection
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'contains many lost books.'
169
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It's estimated that around 90%
of ancient classical literature
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has been lost,
representing countless plays,
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poems, volumes of geography,
science, and history.
172
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And every ancient historian
is going to have a particular work
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that they wish could be recovered.
174
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In some cases,
we know what we're missing.
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Most of Livy's monumental
History Of Rome, for instance.
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The vast majority of the plays
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of the ancient
Greek playwright Euripides,
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and an estimated two thirds
of Aristotle's works.
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But then
there must be an enormous amount
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that we don't even realise
we've lost.
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00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:17,440
And this huge cache of scrolls
from Herculaneum
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represents the possibility
of unlocking,
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of reading ancient knowledge
that has lain hidden and unread
184
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for nearly 2,000 years.
185
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'As a biologist,
186
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'I know exactly what I'd love
to see revealed
187
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'from inside this library.'
188
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I want to find more Aristotle.
It would be incredible.
189
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His science was just so ahead
of its time.
190
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His book about
how animals were formed,
191
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embryology, basically,
192
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it's just mind blowing
when you go back and read that,
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and I just wonder what else.
194
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What else was he thinking about?
195
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When you stand here and you look
and imagine at what's inside,
196
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you want to use every tool available
to try to get in there, right?
197
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'Brent's journey to read
the scrolls started two decades ago.
198
00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,000
'But he nearly fell
at the first hurdle.'
199
00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:21,760
So when you first came
to the Library of Naples
200
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and said that you might be able
to read these scrolls,
201
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what did they say to you?
202
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,680
I got a letter from the library
that... Well, it didn't just say no.
203
00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:31,800
It basically said, "Hell no."
Really?
204
00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:34,880
They thought you were crazy.
I think maybe.
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SHE LAUGHS
But you persisted.
206
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I mean, you could have stopped then.
207
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You could have thought,
"Well, maybe they're right.
208
00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,200
"Maybe, you know,
nobody's ever gonna read
209
00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,920
"these Herculaneum scrolls."
I really needed to convince them
210
00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,520
that there was something
interesting here that could be done.
211
00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:51,840
'The first step in convincing
the rightly cautious curators
212
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'that Brent should be granted access
213
00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:57,320
'was to prove that he could safely
transport them
214
00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:59,240
'for the necessary scanning.
215
00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:03,680
'Brent and his team came up
with an ingenious solution.'
216
00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,880
How do you go about
taking one of these,
217
00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:10,520
just incredibly delicate objects,
and transporting it?
218
00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:12,760
They are really fragile.
219
00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,080
So, the way we came up
with a method for transporting
220
00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:20,720
is to make a replica
that's the exact shape.
221
00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,360
And then the replica allows us
to build a case that's form-fitting.
222
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:27,520
So this is a 3D-printed model,
223
00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:31,320
a proxy of an actual
Herculaneum scroll?
224
00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:34,640
That's exactly right. We captured
this shape using photogrammetry,
225
00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:38,160
which is a technique that allows us
to take images from the outside
226
00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,600
and then put that together into
a three dimensional reconstruction.
227
00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:42,640
What's the next stage?
228
00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:45,640
Well, we create the inverse shape,
which is the case.
229
00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:49,320
The case is form-fitted
with the reverse shape,
230
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so that it sits in this
little cradle and then is protected
231
00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,160
and can be transported safely.
232
00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,200
'Brent felt that he had solved
the issue
233
00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,440
'of how to transport the scrolls
without damaging them.
234
00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,600
'But the curators of these
irreplaceable scrolls
235
00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:08,880
'were yet to be convinced.
236
00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:13,600
'And then in 2019,
he finally had a breakthrough.'
237
00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,920
'The Institut de France in Paris
is one of the only two places
238
00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,520
'outside the National Library
in Naples
239
00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,320
'to house any
of the Herculaneum scrolls.
240
00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:47,800
'These ones arrived in France
at the start of the 19th century.'
241
00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,320
'Over 200 years later,
242
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,560
'the staff here are responsible
243
00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,880
'for protecting
these precious artefacts.'
244
00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,880
'Sharing Brent's desire to unlock
the mysteries of these papyri,
245
00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:39,800
'Madame Berard has granted him
access to the scrolls in her care.
246
00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:42,320
'She's aware of the risk.'
247
00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:24,960
'Brent has given
the Institut de France
248
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,880
'the bespoke protective cases
made by his team...
249
00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:34,920
'..ready for the scrolls
to be placed inside.'
250
00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:20,000
'With the scrolls safely tucked
inside Brent's custom-built cases,
251
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:24,840
'they're transported 360 miles away
from their Paris home...
252
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,280
'..to Oxfordshire,
where Brent is waiting,
253
00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:33,720
'ready to attempt
the seemingly impossible.
254
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:39,200
'At Diamond Light Source,
the UK's national synchrotron,
255
00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:42,880
'Brent is hoping he's found
X-rays powerful enough
256
00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:44,480
'to achieve his goal.'
257
00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:12,600
'This facility can produce
very high energy X-rays.'
258
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,520
'Ten billion times brighter,
in fact.
259
00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:24,360
'And exposing the Herculaneum
scrolls to these powerful X-rays
260
00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:29,120
'could be the crucial first step
towards reading what's inside.'
261
00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,000
'Brent's theory is that the ink
inside the scrolls
262
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:45,320
'should block more of the X-rays
than the paper,
263
00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:49,560
'allowing him to see a contrast
between the letters and the pages.
264
00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,840
'He's already shown
that this can work.
265
00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:59,760
'In 2015, he successfully read
a 2,000-year-old carbonised scroll
266
00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,240
'found near En Gedi in Israel.'
267
00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:04,880
We were the first
to ever have done that.
268
00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:09,560
The scroll from En Gedi
was a verifiable copy
269
00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:11,920
of the first two chapters
of Leviticus,
270
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:16,120
and it was verified by scholars
outside my group, biblical scholars.
271
00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,760
So, fully vetted.
272
00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:23,000
'Reading the En Gedi scroll
was a major breakthrough.
273
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:25,040
'But the Herculaneum papyri
274
00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,880
'represent an even greater
challenge.'
275
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:29,560
The scroll from En Gedi
276
00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:34,360
must have had some metal
or impurity in the ink
277
00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,160
that helped us with the contrast,
278
00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:40,120
because it turned out that the
writing came directly from the scan.
279
00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:42,160
What we're finding with Herculaneum
280
00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,200
is that we don't get a direct signal
at the ink in the scan.
281
00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:48,160
It has to do with the chemistry.
282
00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:52,160
In the ancient world, the inks
were mainly based on carbon,
283
00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,720
and the papyrus is carbon.
284
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:56,800
So, it's kind of hard
to see the difference
285
00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:58,640
between the background
and the foreground.
286
00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:05,920
These came from Paris yesterday
on the, uh, on the TGV,
287
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:11,280
through the tunnel, through
the, uh, the English Channel.
288
00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:16,120
'Today, Madame Berard has brought
not only unopened scrolls,
289
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:20,560
'but also loose fragments of papyrus
from the Paris collection.
290
00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:25,280
'These will allow Brent to test
just how effective his method is.
291
00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:29,720
'Brent has used his expertise
as a computer scientist
292
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,280
'to build a deep-learning
artificial intelligence program
293
00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:38,160
'to identify where there is ink
on the papyrus.
294
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,200
'Because these loose fragments
contain ink
295
00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:43,960
'that's visible
to the naked human eye,
296
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:49,840
'they'll allow Brent to check
if his AI program actually works.'
297
00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,920
What we're doing when we image
the fragments
298
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,320
is we're creating
a scientific control.
299
00:20:57,360 --> 00:20:59,320
Because in the data we capture,
300
00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:01,600
we can see what that data
looks like,
301
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:06,440
and hopefully tease out what ink
actually should be looking like.
302
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:10,440
Yeah.
303
00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:15,720
Let me, uh...
synch it up with the Allen wrench.
304
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:17,000
So we'll do this.
305
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:20,200
'Once we use those controls,
306
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:24,040
'we have a better sense
of what to look for in the data.'
307
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,680
So that's where the artificial
intelligence comes in.
308
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,720
We've trained a system to be able
to see really subtle changes,
309
00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,440
to go through the data
systematically
310
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,880
and say, "Does that section
look like it has ink, yes or no?"
311
00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:40,480
And the training comes
from these open fragments,
312
00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,200
because by being able to see
what's visible,
313
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:45,120
we can make this comparison
314
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,520
to what's invisible and hidden.
315
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,960
'After scanning the fragments,
it's time for the main event -
316
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,360
'scanning the scrolls.'
317
00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,280
Of course, there's this sacred kind
of feeling that comes over you
318
00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,920
when you're in the presence
of something that's 2,000 years old.
319
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,560
If we scan the scroll,
we can tell what the shape is
320
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,120
and how long it might have been.
321
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:22,440
'The scrolls were carbonised
in their rolled-up state,
322
00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,800
'but they were also contorted
and bent out of shape
323
00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,040
'by the intense heat
and the volcanic ash
324
00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:31,400
'that entombed Herculaneum,
325
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:37,000
'which makes Brent's job of
digitally mapping them even harder.'
326
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,800
It's not a perfect cylinder
like you envision in your mind
327
00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,120
when you think of someone reading
a scroll.
328
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,960
They're completely unpredictable
in their shape.
329
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,640
Now, they are spiral-like,
330
00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,160
but every twist and turn,
every break is chaos inside.
331
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,440
'Interpreting the X-rays
of the scrolls
332
00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:57,480
'involves capturing
their internal structure,
333
00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:00,920
'every fold and crease
of the papyrus,
334
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,720
'and then virtually unrolling them.'
335
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:05,880
ALARM BLARING
336
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,000
'The aim is to build
337
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,360
'an astonishingly high resolution
3D image
338
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,560
'of the inner surface of the scroll.
339
00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,040
'Brent's colleague Seth Parker
340
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,160
'is making sure
the scanning goes to plan.'
341
00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,960
To get a complete scan
of the whole scroll,
342
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,680
I think it would take eight hours.
343
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,280
Um, and then that's about
40 individual scans
344
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:31,080
that we have to piece together.
345
00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:35,640
'These scans will generate
enormous volumes of data,
346
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:39,760
'which Brent and his team
must assemble and analyse
347
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:41,680
'in order to have any hope
348
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:46,080
'of digitally reconstructing
and reading the scrolls.'
349
00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:49,080
'This is the biggest technical
challenge in my career.'
350
00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:52,280
I've learned
to just embrace the fact
351
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,560
that those challenges make
it interesting.
352
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:59,560
I have confidence that what I'm
doing will be a major step forward.
353
00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:02,560
'Coming up...
354
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,320
'from the fragments
of broken scrolls
355
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,720
'comes a brand-new discovery.'
356
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,600
We haven't got this ancient text
anywhere else. No.
357
00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:16,480
'And we take Brent inside the place
where the scrolls were unearthed.'
358
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,640
It's sort of a miracle
that they survived.
359
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,680
ALICE ROBERTS:
'One of the things that makes
360
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,360
'the Lost Scrolls of Vesuvius
so remarkable
361
00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,480
'is that they all belonged
to a single library.
362
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,920
'That library was housed
in a lavish villa
363
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,640
'on the outskirts of Herculaneum.
364
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:01,920
'After the building was discovered,
365
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,520
'it became known
as the Villa of The Papyri
366
00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:07,760
'after the scrolls inside it.
367
00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:15,320
'2,000 years ago, this villa
occupied a stunning 800-foot stretch
368
00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:18,920
'of the best and most sought after
real estate...
369
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:24,000
'..spread across almost five acres,
370
00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:25,960
'looking out across the sea.
371
00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:31,200
'Arranged around pillared courtyards
372
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:34,080
'and furnished with lavish gardens,
373
00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:38,720
'it was the finest luxury retreat
in a part of the world
374
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,080
'bursting with extravagant homes.'
375
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,440
The Bay of Naples
was a very fashionable place to be.
376
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:50,920
Lots of rich elites
had villas there.
377
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:52,360
Later, it's going to become
378
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:56,560
what's sort of popularly called
the playground of the emperors.
379
00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:02,160
The imperial family would have spent
a lot of time enjoying the climate
380
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:06,680
and the beautiful natural products
that the place had to offer.
381
00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:11,400
'Even in an area
frequented by emperors,
382
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:16,560
'the Villa of The Papyri dwarfed
any other villa in the area,
383
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,600
'and its scale was complemented
384
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:24,040
'by lavish decoration,
striking mosaics
385
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,280
'and vibrant wall paintings.'
386
00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:31,720
It is extraordinary for its
collection of sculptures as well.
387
00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:36,160
So there are various different forms
of artwork that also survived.
388
00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,160
'Although Brent
has visited Herculaneum before,
389
00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,960
'he's never been
inside the ruins of the villa
390
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,760
'where the scrolls
he wants to open were found.
391
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,160
'So today,
he's going deep underground
392
00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,200
'with Professor Mantha Zarmakoupi.
393
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:04,440
'She's the world's leading expert
on the Villa of The Papyri.
394
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,320
'She knows the site better
than anyone.'
395
00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,520
So, the villa was discovered
in the 18th century through tunnels.
396
00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:14,240
You can see a column here.
397
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:17,080
Another column here.
398
00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:24,760
'Herculaneum was first uncovered
accidentally in the 18th century,
399
00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:29,880
'when farmers digging wells began
to unearth ancient Roman artefacts.
400
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:32,560
'Once it became apparent
401
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,280
'that a major settlement
could be buried here,
402
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:39,160
'people began digging tunnels
deep into the volcanic rock
403
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:43,520
'to find out exactly
what lay beneath the surface.
404
00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:45,360
'It was dangerous work.'
405
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:50,200
It was a very difficult operation,
so they made as much effort
406
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,800
to create like stability
in the space that they were working.
407
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:54,400
Even the most recent excavations,
408
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,800
the workers were very much concerned
about the stability of the area,
409
00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,120
and they were not happy
to be working in the tunnels.
410
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:06,080
'Among the buildings discovered
was this huge villa.
411
00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:14,280
'Precious artefacts were found
throughout it.
412
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:19,360
'And then the excavators came across
a trail of charred papyri.'
413
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,200
When they first found them,
they didn't understand
414
00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:24,000
what the value was, what they were.
415
00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:27,160
They thought they were just like
wooden sticks or something.
416
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:31,840
'Some of the papyri were discarded
or even burnt as fuel
417
00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:36,560
'before writing was spotted on
some fragments that had broken away,
418
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:40,680
'revealing that they were,
in fact, ancient texts.'
419
00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:45,080
The rolls that were found there
for a large part were in a room
420
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:48,200
that the Roman architectural
historians called the Tablinum.
421
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:52,000
It's kind of between two open areas.
422
00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,960
'The tablinum was similar
to a study or a home office,
423
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,720
'where the owner likely read
his books.
424
00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:04,000
'Many of the scrolls were found
not sorted neatly on shelves,
425
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,920
'but stacked in piles
or packed into crates,
426
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,440
'almost as if somebody
had been attempting
427
00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,200
'to move them to safety
when Vesuvius erupted.
428
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:19,560
'A trail of scrolls led back to
another area where more were found.
429
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:23,160
'Here, they were
more neatly organised.'
430
00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,640
This is the room
that has been associated
431
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:27,240
with the library of the villa.
432
00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,960
This is where most of
the scrolls were found stacked.
433
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,240
It feels like a real rescue,
doesn't it?
434
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:35,640
When you see the context
right where it was found.
435
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:39,720
It's sort of a miracle that
they survived and were discovered.
436
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:47,360
'So, who built this once stunning
villa and its incredible library?
437
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:54,480
'The evidence we have suggests a man
of immense wealth and influence,
438
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,680
'a Roman nobleman
who brushed shoulders
439
00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,120
'with the most powerful people
of his day.'
440
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:07,640
His name was
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus,
441
00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,600
and he was the owner
of this wonderful villa
442
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:12,120
and everything it contained,
443
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:14,880
including those scrolls.
444
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,960
We have his name on inscriptions
found in Herculaneum.
445
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,480
He's the most powerful Roman
we know of who was there.
446
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:26,800
And the richer you were,
the larger your villa.
447
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:31,000
This villa
is the biggest villa there.
448
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:32,480
We put two and two together.
449
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:36,200
Everyone seems happy enough
to believe that it was his.
450
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:41,240
'Piso was a powerful
Roman politician
451
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:43,920
'and savvy enough
to use his influence
452
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:45,920
'to benefit his family and himself.
453
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,080
'Perhaps his greatest achievement
454
00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:52,880
'was marrying his daughter,
Calpurnia,
455
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:56,520
'to an up-and-coming Roman general.
456
00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,160
'His name was Julius Caesar.'
457
00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,160
That gave Piso a very,
very strong political connection.
458
00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,600
To have a son-in-law like
Julius Caesar in this period
459
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,680
gave him a certain amount
of political influence
460
00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:12,760
and protection as well.
461
00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:17,840
He got to the top in 58BCE
and became consul in Rome.
462
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:21,000
So that's one of
the chief political positions.
463
00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:27,320
'A man as wealthy
and well-connected as Piso
464
00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:29,840
'would have filled his library
with great works
465
00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:31,960
'from across the ancient world,
466
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:36,640
'from philosophy to plays
to history.
467
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:41,800
'And it's believed
that whoever inherited the villa
468
00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:46,520
'after Piso's death
continued to add to this collection.
469
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:50,720
'When the Villa of the Papyri
was destroyed by Vesuvius
470
00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:53,160
'in the year 79...
471
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:57,800
'that library was preserved
inside it,
472
00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:02,000
'where it was discovered
250 years ago.'
473
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:07,840
Over the two-and-a-half centuries
474
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:10,080
since the Herculaneum scrolls
were discovered,
475
00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:15,440
there have been numerous attempts
to unroll and read them.
476
00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:17,240
And as you can see here,
477
00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,080
with varying levels of success.
478
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:26,000
Every time someone tries to do this,
it results in destruction.
479
00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:29,960
Nobody has attempted
a physical unrolling
480
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:34,120
of any of the Herculaneum scrolls
now for 20 years.
481
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:39,840
But what we can do
is go back to these fragments
482
00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:45,680
that have been unrolled
and apply modern technology to them.
483
00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:49,400
And there's been an astonishing
recent breakthrough.
484
00:32:56,200 --> 00:33:00,440
'Valeria Piano is a researcher
in classical philosophy
485
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,280
'at the University of Florence.
486
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:06,720
'A few years ago,
she was studying fragments from
487
00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:12,240
'one particular Herculaneum scroll
in the National Library of Naples.
488
00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:17,160
'Valeria was trying to identify
the author of the scroll.
489
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:20,720
'I can't imagine
where you'd even begin.'
490
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:26,120
I'm looking at this,
and it just looks so charred.
491
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:29,280
It seems impossible
that you would be able
492
00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:31,720
to actually read anything on this.
493
00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,200
What methods do you use to look
at that writing?
494
00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:46,160
Cos obviously with the naked eye,
we can't see anything.
495
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:17,360
So digital imaging
is transforming our ability
496
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:20,400
to read these open scrolls as well.
497
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:23,640
It's bringing together literature
and science, archaeology and history
498
00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:25,320
in a really exciting way.
499
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:27,840
So, tell me about the discovery
that you made
500
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:29,120
with this particular papyrus,
501
00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:31,800
because you had
a bit of a breakthrough.
502
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:36,480
'The Latin scroll Valeria was
studying had previously been logged
503
00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,480
'as a record of a political speech.
504
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:44,280
'But poring over the text,
Valeria spotted a key phrase
505
00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:47,240
'that convinced her
this was something different -
506
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:49,480
'an important lost book.'
507
00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:03,760
'For Valeria, these few words
had momentous significance.
508
00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:08,600
'The Roman philosopher Seneca
the Younger, in his own works,
509
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:12,120
'had used this exact phrase
to refer to a history
510
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:13,800
'of the Roman Civil War
511
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:17,560
'composed by his father,
Seneca the Elder.'
512
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:48,960
We best know Seneca the Elder
as a historian.
513
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:53,680
He wrote a history of his own time
from the time of the Civil Wars.
514
00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:57,280
Certainly, he was also interested
in cataloguing the political events
515
00:35:57,320 --> 00:35:59,440
that were taking place in Rome.
516
00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:04,080
So, you'd worked out that this was
the history of Seneca the Elder?
517
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:13,080
This is...
I mean, it is mind-blowing, Valeria.
518
00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:15,880
It doesn't exist
in any other library.
519
00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:18,280
We haven't got this ancient text
anywhere else.
520
00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:22,120
I've got goose bumps.
You must have...
521
00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:24,440
I mean, that must have been
such an incredible moment
522
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:25,840
when you realised that it was.
523
00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:30,840
Yeah.
524
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:36,080
'It's astonishing that Valeria
has been able to identify
525
00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:41,520
'this previously lost work
from mere scraps of papyrus.
526
00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:43,960
'And her discovery tells us
527
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,800
'there must be many more
amazing works hidden
528
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:50,920
'in the unread scrolls
waiting to be found.
529
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:53,360
'Coming up...
530
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,640
'After four years
of following Brent's story,
531
00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,480
'we present his results
in a global exclusive.'
532
00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:04,600
What I'm now seeing is actually the
thing that I've been looking for.
533
00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:06,760
It's incredibly exciting.
534
00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:30,720
'It's been four long, tough years
535
00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:36,600
'since Brent and his team scanned
the Herculaneum scroll from Paris.'
536
00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:38,640
Maybe struggle's
just part of the story.
537
00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:40,280
Cos if you look at the material,
538
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,880
tell me that the material
is not struggling.
539
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,240
I mean, it's been carbonised
for 2,000 years
540
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:47,840
and pulled from the ground
250 years ago.
541
00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:49,720
And now here we are,
still struggling
542
00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:51,920
to just sort of redeem it
and reconcile it.
543
00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,080
I think that's just a major theme
in the story.
544
00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:05,040
'Brent's team have spent
thousands of working hours
545
00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:08,440
'analysing the data
that they gathered from the scans
546
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,280
'at Diamond Light Source.
547
00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:16,000
'Today, they can finally see
the results.'
548
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:20,320
You can see the wraps of the scroll
with the core in the middle
549
00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:21,960
spiralling outward.
550
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,200
Of course, it's very complicated.
551
00:38:24,240 --> 00:38:27,240
So here we have one slice.
And if you take that slice
552
00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:29,800
and then stack another one
on top of it
553
00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:31,400
and just keep doing that,
554
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:35,080
you can start to get a sense
for the 3D structure
555
00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:36,920
that these scrolls have inside.
556
00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:42,360
'The vast amount of data
557
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:47,040
'has been transformed into
these remarkably detailed models,
558
00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:52,360
'each one a perfect
digital recreation of the inside
559
00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:53,920
'of a Herculaneum scroll.'
560
00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:58,200
Of course we have
this complicated 3D structure.
561
00:38:58,240 --> 00:38:59,680
How do we find the ink in it?
562
00:38:59,720 --> 00:39:00,840
That's the big question.
563
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:04,200
So what we do is we actually
just focus on one portion,
564
00:39:04,240 --> 00:39:07,440
one part of a rap
that you can clearly identify,
565
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:10,880
either in the slice images or in 3D,
as we're looking at here.
566
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:15,600
And once you find that rap,
you focus on it and trace its shape
567
00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:19,440
and extract it, and only look at
the data relating to that shape.
568
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:24,200
Each of these coloured lines
represent a single layer,
569
00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:26,640
or part of a layer,
from the wraps of the scroll
570
00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:30,520
that we've identified and pulled out
on its own.
571
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:34,760
'This process
is called segmentation,
572
00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:39,080
'isolating an individual layer
deep within the scroll,
573
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,720
'allowing a more detailed analysis
of the data.
574
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:47,640
'Brent's team have been attempting
to train an AI algorithm
575
00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:50,840
'to identify any writing inside,
576
00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:54,640
'but has
that part of the plan worked?
577
00:39:54,680 --> 00:40:00,560
'Can anything be seen on this
segmented layer of the scroll?
578
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,680
'Brent made the bold decision
to make his software
579
00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:05,840
'and his data open source,
580
00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:09,360
'meaning that people from all
over the world could help him
581
00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:13,480
'to achieve his goal
of reading the scrolls.'
582
00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:16,600
There's been a lot of collaboration
and sharing, which has been great.
583
00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:19,920
In fact, we've set up
a competitive science environment
584
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:25,480
that has inspired people around the
world to contribute to this project.
585
00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:28,280
So, there's a global community
now talking about this work.
586
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:32,720
And by global, I mean thousands
of people, not tens or hundreds,
587
00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,240
thousands of people
talking about this work.
588
00:40:35,280 --> 00:40:40,920
'This is what two decades of work
have been leading towards for Brent,
589
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:43,760
'a moment some said
would never come.'
590
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:45,320
This seems like a moon-shot,
591
00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:48,880
you know, reading a scroll from
Herculaneum without opening it.
592
00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:50,400
There were so many things
593
00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:53,240
that I was told
we would not be able to do.
594
00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:54,960
We couldn't get access.
595
00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,720
We couldn't move anything
to a different place.
596
00:40:57,760 --> 00:40:59,920
The technology wouldn't work.
597
00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:03,960
It's been very real that
we might not achieve our goals.
598
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:05,400
Now that I look back on it,
599
00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:09,520
after 20 years' worth of aggregation
and accumulation of results,
600
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:14,560
it actually is kind of astounding
to realise that all those people
601
00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:17,600
who said that we couldn't do
all those things were wrong.
602
00:41:20,560 --> 00:41:22,160
They were wrong.
603
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:35,720
What you're seeing behind me
is the first ever set of text
604
00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:37,600
from inside
a closed Herculaneum scroll.
605
00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:43,440
This is the first time that anyone
has seen this text in 2,000 years.
606
00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:48,920
What I'm now seeing is actually the
thing that I've been looking for.
607
00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:51,640
It's incredibly exciting.
608
00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:54,400
'But what does it say?
609
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:58,600
'Brent's friend,
Papyrologist James Brusuelas,
610
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:02,880
'is helping him to identify
this lost text.'
611
00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:06,360
The last time a human looked at this
was an ancient Roman.
612
00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:08,720
But you're saying
there's a word there.
613
00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:12,800
The word "porphyra" or "porphyras"
starts to become very clear.
614
00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:14,800
and that's a word for purple.
615
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:18,000
So you're saying
that the first thing
616
00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:21,840
that we pull out of Herculaneum,
that we can read, it says purple.
617
00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:24,320
Yeah. It's a very specific word
in the ancient world.
618
00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:27,080
When you make purple clothes
and you wear purple clothes,
619
00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:29,080
it means you're very wealthy.
620
00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:30,840
It's like driving around
in your Ferrari.
621
00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:32,960
This is why the Roman emperors
often wore purple.
622
00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:35,360
So in this instance,
if it's not matching anything
623
00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:38,360
that we've already seen from what's
been published from Herculaneum,
624
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:39,840
it could be something unknown.
625
00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:42,160
This is from a scroll
that's completely closed.
626
00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:45,640
If we can get a little bit farther,
we can give you images
627
00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:47,960
that look like something
that's already opened.
628
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:49,520
We're gonna be
knocking at your door.
629
00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:51,680
"Can you give me more segments?
I want more lines.
630
00:42:51,720 --> 00:42:53,560
"More lines,
more lines, more lines."
631
00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:55,160
It's a watershed moment, really.
632
00:42:56,680 --> 00:43:00,920
'I'm blown away by what Brent
and his team have done,
633
00:43:00,960 --> 00:43:05,840
'using artificial intelligence
to unveil ancient intelligence.
634
00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:09,000
'It's the achievement
of a lifetime.'
635
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:10,160
This is incredible
636
00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:12,200
because you're talking about
reading words
637
00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:14,360
which nobody has seen
since Vesuvius erupted.
638
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:15,680
That's correct, yeah.
639
00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:17,800
You've been working on this
for 20 years.
640
00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:21,080
Does it feel like a landscape
is opening up in front of you?
641
00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:24,720
We've pioneered the technology
and we've proven that it can work,
642
00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:27,160
and we've taken a lot of steps
to be able to do that.
643
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:28,440
It's been a long journey.
644
00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:31,480
Brent Seales is giving us all hope.
645
00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:33,720
He's not a classicist by training.
646
00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:38,720
He somehow got caught up with it,
and he's our saviour from without.
647
00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:42,640
I mean, he's doing things
that we never thought possible.
648
00:43:42,680 --> 00:43:46,000
The plan is to inspire
more excavation,
649
00:43:46,040 --> 00:43:49,680
because I believe that there
may be more of this material
650
00:43:49,720 --> 00:43:51,680
actually still in the ground.
651
00:43:51,720 --> 00:43:54,920
Can you estimate how many more
there are to analyse?
652
00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:57,040
We can estimate how many
there are... Yeah.
653
00:43:57,080 --> 00:43:59,640
..but I can tell you exactly
how many we intend to scan.
654
00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:01,760
How many?
All of them.
655
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:04,800
And what are we talking about,
tens, hundreds?
656
00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:07,320
Hundreds.
Hundreds of ancient books?
657
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:09,520
But they're all part
of the collection. Yeah.
658
00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:11,600
So why leave anyone behind?
Yeah.
659
00:44:13,360 --> 00:44:16,320
It is astonishing
that Brent's research
660
00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:18,000
has brought us to this point
661
00:44:18,040 --> 00:44:24,200
where we can actually read words
deep inside these papyri.
662
00:44:24,240 --> 00:44:26,720
Everyone thought
those words were lost,
663
00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:29,680
were closed,
would never be unlocked.
664
00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:33,200
And just imagine
what insights remain
665
00:44:33,240 --> 00:44:36,400
within this library of papyri.
666
00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:40,280
One thing is absolutely for certain,
667
00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:43,840
and that is that
this is just the beginning.
56562
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