Metallic ink revealed in Herculaneum papyri

Thanks to a novel, non-invasive X-ray imaging technique (3D phase contrast tomography), scientists were able to decipher words and reconstitute an almost complete Greek alphabet from inside the very badly damaged and rolled papyrus scrolls, carbonized during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Since this discovery, scientists have continued to reveal the secrets of the Herculaneum papyri using synchrotron light. This latest scientific discovery deeply modifies our knowledge of Greek and Latin writing in Antiquity and opens new research perspectives for the study of these precious scriptures.

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