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Mount Vesuvius
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- 1Pompeii eruption helps scientists date Earth's history▼The eruption that destroyed Pompeii is helping scientists date Earth's history
Researchers are using the volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed Pompeii, as a precise marker to date archaeological sites and geological records around the world. Because the eruption buried material at a known moment, its ash layers serve as a reference point that helps scientists anchor timelines of Earth's history.
- 2Scientists Bake Replica Herculaneum Scrolls to Improve X-Ray Reading●New from the Teahouse 🫖 Star Wars on Papyrus: Why Scientists Baked Their Own Herculaneum Scrolls to Help Read the Real O
Researchers made their own carbonized papyrus scrolls, spiked with lead-based ink, to test ways of reading the real Herculaneum scrolls damaged by Mount Vesuvius. The study found the lead-laced ink glows up to 25 times brighter under X-rays, which could help locate and decipher text on the genuine charred scrolls without unrolling them.
- 3Scientists burn modern papyrus to unlock Herculaneum scrolls●Researchers deliberately burned a modern papyrus scroll to help recover words lost nearly 2,000 years ago. Their experim
Researchers have deliberately burned a modern papyrus scroll to recreate the conditions that carbonised the ancient library of Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The experiment suggests traces of lead in ancient ink could reveal which of the still-unopened scrolls contain readable text, helping prioritise which fragile artefacts to scan next in efforts to recover words lost for nearly 2,000 years.