{"id":3347,"date":"2019-04-30T13:04:21","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T13:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www2.cs.uky.edu\/dri\/?page_id=3347"},"modified":"2025-10-14T15:25:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T19:25:05","slug":"news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www2.cs.uky.edu\/dri\/news\/","title":{"rendered":"News"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_height=”yes” rt_row_background_width=”fullwidth” rt_row_content_width=”default” rt_row_style=”default-style” rt_column_placement=”middle” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”false” rt_bg_image=”3534″ rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”no-repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”center center” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted” src=”“https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1QPYT0wJOBQEna7-Qo4EZQ-AXvm1UKs-V\/preview“” width=”“640“”][vc_column width=”1\/3″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_custom_heading text=”In the News” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff|line_height:1.5em” google_fonts=”font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_custom_heading text=”Dr. Seales on 60 Minutes.” font_container=”tag:h5|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff|line_height:1.5em” google_fonts=”font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:600%20bold%20regular%3A600%3Anormal”][vc_btn title=”Watch Interview” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#0033a0″ outline_custom_hover_text=”#ffffff” shape=”square” size=”lg” i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-caret-square-o-right” css=”.vc_custom_1564519051671{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}” add_icon=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F1QPYT0wJOBQEna7-Qo4EZQ-AXvm1UKs-V%2Fview%3Fusp%3Dsharing||target:%20_blank|”][vc_btn title=”Watch 2024 Update” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#0033a0″ outline_custom_hover_text=”#ffffff” shape=”square” size=”lg” i_icon_fontawesome=”far fa-caret-square-right” css=”.vc_custom_1710184614450{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}” add_icon=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fvideo%2Fherculaneum-scrolls-60-minutes-video-2024-03-03%2F|target:_blank”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_btn title=”What’s New” style=”custom” custom_background=”#0033a0″ custom_text=”#ffffff” shape=”square” size=”lg” align=”left” i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-chevron-down” add_icon=”true” link=”url:%2Fdri%2Fnews%2F%23whats-new|||”][vc_btn title=”In the Press” style=”custom” custom_background=”#0033a0″ custom_text=”#ffffff” shape=”square” size=”lg” align=”left” i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-chevron-down” add_icon=”true” link=”url:%2Fdri%2Fnews%2F%23press|||”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row rt_row_background_width=”fullwidth” rt_row_content_width=”default” rt_row_style=”default-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” id=”#in-the-press” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_row_inner rt_row_style=”global-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column_inner width=”7\/12″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_single_image image=”5426″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/12″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”]

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Students Decipher 2,000-Year-Old Herculaneum Scrolls<\/h2><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]February 13, 2024 –<\/strong><\/p>\n

Almost two millennia after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius hardened them into lumps of coal in 79 CE, previously indecipherable papyrus scrolls from the ancient library of Herculaneum are finally yielding their secrets, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

The three decoded more than 2,000 characters of text, which papyrologists have translated to a discussion of the nature of pleasure, most likely part of a previously unknown work by Epicurean poet and philosopher Philodemus of Gadara. In the translated passages, the author considers whether the availability or scarcity of goods such as food affects our experience of pleasure\u2014and critiques intellectual rivals who \u201chave nothing to say about pleasure, either in general or in particular, when it is a question of definition.\u201d<\/p>\n

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These newly discovered passages represent just 5 percent of one scroll. But for Seales and his colleagues, the findings show that what was once thought impossible is now within reach. On the heels of this latest breakthrough, the founders of the Vesuvius Challenge have announced their\u00a0goal for phase 2<\/a>: to read 90 percent of the four fully scanned scrolls within the next year.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read more<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator style=”style-4″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row rt_row_background_width=”fullwidth” rt_row_content_width=”default” rt_row_style=”default-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” id=”#in-the-press” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_row_inner rt_row_style=”global-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”]

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First Word Discovered in Unopened Herculaneum Scroll by 21yo Computer Science Student<\/h2><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]October 12, 2023 –<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Herculaneum papyri, ancient scrolls housed in the library of a private villa near Pompeii, were buried and carbonized by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. For almost 2,000 years, this lone surviving library from antiquity was buried underground under 20 meters of volcanic mud. In the 1700s, they were excavated, and while they were in some ways preserved by the eruption, they were so fragile that they would turn to dust if mishandled. How do you read a scroll you can\u2019t open? For hundreds of years, this question went unanswered.<\/p>\n

That is until Luke Farritor, a contestant of the\u00a0Vesuvius Challenge<\/a>, became the first person in two millennia to see an entire word from within an unopened scroll this August. For that, we are thrilled to award Luke a $40,000 First Letters Prize, which required contestants to find at least 10 letters in a 4 cm2<\/sup>\u00a0area in a scroll.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_single_image image=”5352″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator style=”style-4″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row rt_row_background_width=”fullwidth” rt_row_content_width=”default” rt_row_style=”default-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” id=”#in-the-press” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_separator style=”style-4″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row rt_row_background_width=”fullwidth” rt_row_content_width=”default” rt_row_style=”default-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” id=”#in-the-press” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_row_inner rt_row_style=”global-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”]

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Scrolls That Survived Vesuvius Divulge Their First Word<\/h2><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]By Nicholas Wade<\/p>\n

October 12, 2023 – <\/strong>From deep within a papyrus scroll that has not been read in almost 2,000 years and would crumble to pieces if unrolled, researchers have retrieved a handful of letters and a single word: \u201cporphyras,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0ancient Greek for \u201cpurple.\u201d<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

The new approach used to read the scrolls has been developed over the past 20 years by Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky. It uses computer tomography, the same technique as in CT scans, plus advancements in artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

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Herculaneum Scrolls: A 20-Year Journey to Read the Unreadable <\/h2><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]By Erin Wickey<\/a><\/p>\n

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug.24, 2023)\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/strong>Restoring an ancient library from the ashes of Mount Vesuvius is now closer to a reality. To highlight the progress, this is the first in a four-video series featuring Brent Seales, University of Kentucky Alumni Professor in the\u00a0Department of Computer Science<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering and his\u00a0Digital Restoration Initiative\u00a0<\/strong>team.<\/p>\n

Watch now<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator style=”style-4″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row rt_row_background_width=”fullwidth” rt_row_content_width=”default” rt_row_style=”default-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” id=”#in-the-press” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_row_inner rt_row_style=”global-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”]

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UK’s Brent Seales Launches Global Competition to decipher Herculaneum Scrolls<\/h2><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]By Lindsey Piercy<\/a><\/p>\n

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 21, 2023)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014<\/strong>\u00a0They are among the most iconic and inaccessible of the world\u2019s vast collection of damaged manuscripts.<\/p>\n

Burned and buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, the Herculaneum scrolls offer a unique window to the ancient world.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, they are too fragile to unroll.<\/p>\n

But now, you can help resurrect the ancient library from the volcanic ashes. Brent Seales, a\u00a0computer science<\/a>\u00a0professor at the\u00a0University of Kentucky<\/a>, is leading a global competition to read the charred scrolls after demonstrating that an artificial intelligence program (AI) can successfully extract letters and symbols from X-ray images of the unrolled papyri\u00a0(EduceLab-scrolls)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Join the challenge<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_single_image image=”5276″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”5274″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator style=”style-4″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row rt_row_background_width=”fullwidth” rt_row_content_width=”default” rt_row_style=”default-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” id=”#in-the-press” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_row_inner rt_row_style=”global-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column_inner rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”]

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‘Research Made Possible’ Podcast: $14 Million NSF Grant for UK EduceLab<\/h2><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner rt_row_style=”global-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_single_image image=”5263″ img_size=”full”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_single_image image=”5264″ img_size=”full”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner rt_row_style=”global-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column_inner rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll”][vc_column_text]By Alicia Gregory<\/a><\/p>\n

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2022) \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s the signature on a bourbon barrel. It’s the ancient footprints in Mammoth Cave. Heritage science is all around us and has deep roots in the Commonwealth. Kentucky\u2019s story begins in prehistoric times, when mammoths roamed the Ohio River Valley at Big Bone Lick.<\/p>\n

In November 2021, the University of Kentucky announced a new $14 million mid-scale infrastructure grant from the\u00a0National Science Foundation<\/a>, that will allow UK to tell that story in new, groundbreaking ways through the lens of heritage science.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UK Awarded $14 Million NSF Grant to Launch World-Class Cultural Heritage Lab<\/h2><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]The University of Kentucky takes a big step in advancing heritage science with the immense help of a $14 million infrastructure grant from the National Science Foundation<\/a>. The grant supports the development of a world-class heritage lab at UK’s own William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology.<\/p>\n

“We are at a turning point, science and technology present a host of exciting opportunities to the heritage sector. They must not be wasted.” Dr. Brent Seales said.<\/p>\n

Watch Video<\/a><\/p>\n

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Prof. Brent Seales Using Light Brighter Than the Sun to Read Herculaneum Scrolls<\/h2><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]Using light 10 billion times brighter than the sun, Professor Brent Seales and his team recently captured images of authentic Herculaneum material at Diamond Light Source, a high-energy physics facility in Oxford, England. \u00a0Thanks to funding from\u00a0the National Endowment for the Humanities<\/a> and the Mellon Foundation<\/a>, the team was able to purchase the amount of beam time needed to scan \u2014 at unprecedented spatial resolution \u2014 two intact scrolls and four fragments belonging to the Institut de France in Paris.<\/p>\n

“This scan session promises to be a key moment in our quest for a reliable pathway to reading the invisible library,” said Seales. “The brightness and speed of the Diamond beam, and its ability to handle massive data sets, are crucial.\u00a0We are using the Diamond facility to acquire scans of complete scrolls and also open fragments, with the hope that the open fragments will form a reference library \u2014 or training set \u2014 that can inform our machine learning software approach to visualizing carbon ink,” Seales continued. “If things work as we expect, the scans and the machine learning will open up the chance to see the ink very clearly for the first time.”<\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

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DRI Receives $2 Million Mellon Foundation Grant<\/h2><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]The University of Kentucky is poised to become a world-class leader in “unwrapping” cultural artifacts. Thanks, in large part, to a $2 million grant from\u00a0<\/span>The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation<\/a>, Professor Brent\u00a0Seales finally has the materials access, funding support and technical approach needed to solve the 2,000-year-old mystery of the Herculaneum papyri.<\/p>\n

The prestigious Mellon grant will provide the resources the team needs to virtually unwrap and digitally restore the scrolls. It will also support the electronic compilation and dissemination of the entire Herculaneum collection, which is currently spread across four different institutions: the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, the British Library, the Institut de France and the Biblioteca Nazoinale di Napoli.<\/p>\n

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Innovative Machine Learning Tool Reveals Carbon Ink<\/h3><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]A new study by Dr. Seales and his team refutes claims that carbon ink is \u201cinvisible\u201d in micro-CT scanning and conclusively shows that machine learning can be used to elicit the stubborn text. Their groundbreaking work, featured in the science e-journal PLOS One (From Invisibility to Readability: Recovering the Ink of Herculaneum<\/em><\/a>) demonstrates how characteristics other than density differences, which is the traditional imaging factor in x-ray, can be capitalized upon in micro-CT to reveal carbon ink writing. The team developed a 3D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) that identifies the unique data pattern generated by the scanner when ink is present on the surface of papyrus, versus when the papyrus is blank. In the study, the team successfully applied the CNN to both proxy materials and the most well-known and sought-after of carbon-inked texts, Herculaneum papyri. \u00a0The team also developed a modification of the tool that can generate color renditions from the scans of the inked papyrus, thus providing a realistic facsimile of the original instead of just a traditional black and white x-ray image.<\/p>\n

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‘Behind the Blue’: UK\u2019s Brent Seales Digitally ‘Unwraps’ Ancient Texts, Other Treasures<\/h3><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>[vc_column_text]