Hear from the Innovators of the Vesuvius Challenge at Getty

Speakers will discuss the history of papyrus scrolls buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the challenge to virtually unwrap and read them

Topics
Group of computer generated images of three sets of papyrus scrolls with black text.

Text from PHerc.Pars. 4 (Institute de France), unseen for 2,000 years. The resulting image was produced by the Vesuvius Challenge Grand Prize winning team of Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor, and Julian Schilliger. Fifteen columns of Greek text (ten of which are shown here) are revealed, and are shown on top of the papyrus sheet they are written on. This is the output of a noninvasive software process using X-ray images to peer inside the rolled scroll. © Vesuvius Challenge

Mar 05, 2024

Getty presents The Vesuvius Challenge: Resurrecting a Library of Ancient Scrolls, inviting audiences in person and online to hear from experts about the charred papyrus scrolls found at the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum and the machine learning and computer vision competition that yielded dramatic results.

The program will take place on March 16, from 4pm to 5:30pm at the Getty Villa, with a reception to follow. The talk will also be live-streamed on Zoom.

Hundreds of papyrus scrolls from the Roman Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum were carbonized by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in CE 79. Rediscovered in the 1750s, their fragile condition made it nearly impossible to open and decipher the works of ancient literature they contain without damaging or destroying them—until now.

Speakers from Getty, The University of Naples Federico II, and the Vesuvius Challenge team will discuss the history of the scrolls, the development of an artificial intelligence system that makes the ancient carbon ink readable, and next steps to read more of the scrolls. The grand prize winners will also be honored.

On the 50th anniversary of the Getty Villa Museum, which is modeled on the Villa dei Papiri, Getty celebrates these innovators who cracked the code.

Program Lineup

4pm–5:30pm followed by a reception

The Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum (and Malibu) Kenneth Lapatin, Getty Museum

The Library of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum Federica Nicolardi, The University of Naples Federico II, Italy

Unburied by Technology: Revealing the Ancient Library from Herculaneum Brent Seales, University of Kentucky and Vesuvius Challenge

The Vesuvius Challenge: Where We Go from Here Nat Friedman, Vesuvius Challenge

Introduction of Vesuvius Challenge Award Winners

Reception

About Vesuvius Challenge

The Vesuvius Challenge is an international competition intended to advance machine learning and computer vision solutions to the enigma of the Herculaneum Papyri. Learn more and read the announcement about the winners and what they accomplished.

Back to Top

Resources for Journalists

Press Contacts