Sunday, October 18, 2026 Get the weekly issue
Ai Discovery News What humanity is discovering with Ai and Quantum Computing
History and archaeology

Vesuvius Challenge: reading the Herculaneum scrolls

Readers and historians have the first words from a Herculaneum scroll too fragile to unroll, still sealed since Vesuvius buried it in AD 79.

Ancient ruins below Mount Vesuvius
Photo: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-city-with-a-mountain-in-the-background-r4_7O27N_oM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Skyler Smith</a> / Unsplash

Sources

  1. $50K First Letters Prize awarded for PHerc. 343 Vesuvius Challenge, October 8, 2026

Researched by the Ai Discovery News desk, checked against every source above, and approved by the editor before publishing. How we work →

A week of discoveries, one email, every Sunday.

The week's verified discoveries, what moved on the tracker, and one big question answered. If it was a quiet week in a field, we say so instead of filling the space.

One email a week. Confirm from your inbox, unsubscribe any time. We never sell or share your address. Privacy policy