AI and Scientists Unite to Decipher Old Scrolls Charred by the Vesuvius Volcano

This undated image shows an X-ray scan of part of papyrus scroll PHerc.172, showing the word 'disgust', one of hundreds of papyrus scrolls found amid the remains of a lavish villa at the Roman town of Herculaneum, which was destroyed when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79. Vesuvius Challenge via AP

LONDON—Scientists hope a mix of artificial intelligence and human expertise will help decipher ancient scrolls carbonized by a volcanic eruption 2,000 years ago.

Hundreds of papyrus scrolls were found in the 1750s amid the remains of a lavish villa at the Roman town of Herculaneum, which along with neighboring Pompeii was destroyed when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79.