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Writing read from a carbonized Herculaneum scroll for the first time in 2,000 years

Writing read from a carbonized Herculaneum scroll for the first time in 2,000 years

New Capabilities

A $50,000 First Letters Prize goes to Liam Warner and Nicola Bodill for recovering text in PHerc. 306B.

Yesterday: First Letters Prize awarded for PHerc. 306B

Overview

Updated 2 hours ago

For 2,000 years, the text inside PHerc. 306B was sealed by carbonization. On Nov. 2, 2026, the Vesuvius Challenge awarded a $50,000 prize after contestants recovered readable letters from a high-resolution X-ray scan.

The reading shows that software can pull actual words from a scroll too distorted to open. It also puts PHerc. 306B in line for an $800,000 Grand Prize.

Why it matters

If the scanning method scales, hundreds of carbonized scrolls can be read without risking the physical originals.

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Key Indicators

$50,000
First Letters Prize
Awarded to Liam Warner and Nicola Bodill for PHerc. 306B.
25
Submissions reviewed
The Vesuvius Challenge reviewed 25 entries for this scroll.
10
Readable characters required
The prize target was 10 readable characters within a 4 cm² area.
20
Scrolls still eligible
Scanned scrolls with no First Letters Prize yet.
$800,000
Grand Prize
Awarded for reading 70% of an entire scroll with minimal human input.
70%
Scroll share for Grand Prize
The Grand Prize threshold for a complete virtual unwrap.

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People Involved

LW
Liam Warner
Vesuvius Challenge contestant
Awarded $50,000 First Letters Prize for PHerc. 306B
NB
Nicola Bodill
Vesuvius Challenge contestant
Awarded $50,000 First Letters Prize for PHerc. 306B
FN
Federica Nicolardi
Papyrologist and co-author of the PHerc. 306B announcement
Worked on the papyrology review of PHerc. 306B
BS
Brent Seales
Co-leader of the Vesuvius Challenge
Leading the competition's prize program
 Seth Parker
Seth Parker
Co-leader of the Vesuvius Challenge
Leading the competition's prize program

Organizations Involved

Vesuvius Challenge
Vesuvius Challenge
International competition
Awarded First Letters Prize for PHerc. 306B; 20 scrolls still eligible

An international competition that uses X-ray scans and machine learning to read carbonized Herculaneum scrolls without opening them.
Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli
Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli
National library
Holds PHerc. 306

The Naples library that holds the carbonized PHerc. 306 scroll.
ES
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
International research facility
Provided micro-CT scans of PHerc. 306

The Grenoble synchrotron where the Vesuvius Challenge team took micro-CT scans of PHerc. 306.

Timeline

0079 November 2026

4 events Latest: Yesterday
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. First Letters Prize awarded for PHerc. 306B

    Latest Award

    Liam Warner and Nicola Bodill recover readable text, including the letters αι.

  2. PHerc. 306 micro-CT scanned

    Scanning

    The Vesuvius Challenge team scans the scroll, but no text is read yet.

  3. PHerc. 306 excavated

    Excavation

    The scroll is recovered from the Villa dei Papiri in the 1750s.

  4. Mount Vesuvius buries Herculaneum

    Disaster

    The eruption carbonizes PHerc. 306 and the Villa dei Papiri library.

Scenarios

1

PHerc. 306B wins the $800,000 Grand Prize

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Vesuvius Challenge organizers

The prize requires a team to read 70% of an entire scroll with minimal human input. PHerc. 306B is a front-runner after the First Letters Prize, but the threshold is far higher than 10 characters.

2

Another scanned scroll earns a First Letters Prize

Likely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Vesuvius Challenge community

Twenty scanned scrolls remain eligible. Submissions have already reached 13 other scrolls, so the next prize may come from a different text before PHerc. 306B reaches the Grand Prize.

3

Ink detection works on cheaper 8–9 µm scans

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Vesuvius Challenge organizers

Current results rely on high-resolution scans. Organizers say extending reliable ink detection to 8–9 µm scans would make it practical to scan more of the collection.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

79 CE

Eruption of Mount Vesuvius (79 CE)

Vesuvius buried Herculaneum and the Villa dei Papiri. The heat carbonized the scrolls, including PHerc. 306.

Then

The library survived as carbonized lumps.

Now

Hundreds of scrolls remain rolled and unread.

Why this matters now

The eruption created the sealed, fragile objects that virtual unwrapping is designed to read.

1750s

Excavation of the Villa dei Papiri (1750s)

Workers recovered PHerc. 306 and other scrolls from the villa. The scroll later went to the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli.

Then

PHerc. 306 stayed in the library's collection.

Now

Micro-CT scanning in 2025 made it possible to inspect the interior without opening it.

Why this matters now

PHerc. 306B stayed unread until the 2026 prize because opening it would risk destroying it.

Sources

(2)
Vesuvius Challenge Hacker News