Warning: Geek talking about geek t.v.
I just watched the most fascinating documentary. It was on new nasa technology being used to help decifer the text on scrolls from Herculaneum.
about the documentary:
Herculaneum was devastated in the first century, along with Pompei, by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Herculaneum was closer to the volcano than Pompei, and no one knew it existed until the 18th century because it was so covered after the eruption. In fact, another city had been built right on top of it, and it was only found when a well being dug uncovered a statue.
In Herculaneum, lived Caesar's father in law, who had a vast estate. His villa was uncovered, and thousands of papyrus scrolls were found scattered throughout it.
The scrolls were devastated by the eruption, and were at first thought to be charcoal. When it was discovered that they were indeed scrolls, they became a form of currency for the royal family of Italy. In fact, at one time, the queen traded 18 scolls for 18 kangaroos.
For a long time, there was no way to unroll the scrolls, due to their fragile nature and devastation.
When the effort was first made to unroll them, a brute imbecilic man had the idea to cut them in half and ended up destroying the best preserved scrolls. Some were destroyed by men thinking that liquid mercury, being slippery, could fit into the grooves and make it to where you could unroll them. This pulverized the fragile scrolls it was tried on. Various chemicals yeilded similar results.
Finally, a Vatican specialist came and thought of a brilliant idea. He used animal membranes as backing and slowly, milimeters per day, started to unravel the scrolls.
It was still impossible to read the black ink on the blackened scrolls until recently.
The same technology used by nasa to look at the surfaces of planets was used to look at the grooved papyrus. When put into the computer, the different reflections that ink and papyrus make, create enough difference that the letters can be decifered.
The scrolls found that have been unrolled and looked at thus far (which was hard because no matter how careful you are, there are still holes and such, since you are essentially dealing with ash) are works of philosophy, some containing poetry from female poets even.
Gigante, the man behind the whole project of decifering the scrolls, figured out that the villa would have been three stories tall, not just one. So, he started to excavate and found the most beautiful second layer of the villa.
It became apparent that the reason the papyrus was found scattered was because it was so valuable that an effort was being made to save it and get it out of the building. So, basically, there is most likely more scrolls throughout the home.
However, as they were about to excavate another room in the second story, Italy changed its laws to where the already excavated areas must be preserved before more excavations can occur. So, the room sits unexcavated, and the third layer sits unexcavated as well. Italy does not have the funds to preserve what they have already excavated.
It was so sad because Gigante said at the end of the documentary that his one dream was to one day stand and gaze the entire second story, or hopefully the third layer as well, in the light of our sun before he before he dies.
Then, at the end of the documentary, it said it was in memory of him and that he had died in 2001. So sad.
But seriously, this documentary was just completely fascinating. It was on PBS, and you know how they repeat everything. So, if it is ever on while you are doing nothing, watch it. It is worth it.
about the documentary:
Herculaneum was devastated in the first century, along with Pompei, by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Herculaneum was closer to the volcano than Pompei, and no one knew it existed until the 18th century because it was so covered after the eruption. In fact, another city had been built right on top of it, and it was only found when a well being dug uncovered a statue.
In Herculaneum, lived Caesar's father in law, who had a vast estate. His villa was uncovered, and thousands of papyrus scrolls were found scattered throughout it.
The scrolls were devastated by the eruption, and were at first thought to be charcoal. When it was discovered that they were indeed scrolls, they became a form of currency for the royal family of Italy. In fact, at one time, the queen traded 18 scolls for 18 kangaroos.
For a long time, there was no way to unroll the scrolls, due to their fragile nature and devastation.
When the effort was first made to unroll them, a brute imbecilic man had the idea to cut them in half and ended up destroying the best preserved scrolls. Some were destroyed by men thinking that liquid mercury, being slippery, could fit into the grooves and make it to where you could unroll them. This pulverized the fragile scrolls it was tried on. Various chemicals yeilded similar results.
Finally, a Vatican specialist came and thought of a brilliant idea. He used animal membranes as backing and slowly, milimeters per day, started to unravel the scrolls.
It was still impossible to read the black ink on the blackened scrolls until recently.
The same technology used by nasa to look at the surfaces of planets was used to look at the grooved papyrus. When put into the computer, the different reflections that ink and papyrus make, create enough difference that the letters can be decifered.
The scrolls found that have been unrolled and looked at thus far (which was hard because no matter how careful you are, there are still holes and such, since you are essentially dealing with ash) are works of philosophy, some containing poetry from female poets even.
Gigante, the man behind the whole project of decifering the scrolls, figured out that the villa would have been three stories tall, not just one. So, he started to excavate and found the most beautiful second layer of the villa.
It became apparent that the reason the papyrus was found scattered was because it was so valuable that an effort was being made to save it and get it out of the building. So, basically, there is most likely more scrolls throughout the home.
However, as they were about to excavate another room in the second story, Italy changed its laws to where the already excavated areas must be preserved before more excavations can occur. So, the room sits unexcavated, and the third layer sits unexcavated as well. Italy does not have the funds to preserve what they have already excavated.
It was so sad because Gigante said at the end of the documentary that his one dream was to one day stand and gaze the entire second story, or hopefully the third layer as well, in the light of our sun before he before he dies.
Then, at the end of the documentary, it said it was in memory of him and that he had died in 2001. So sad.
But seriously, this documentary was just completely fascinating. It was on PBS, and you know how they repeat everything. So, if it is ever on while you are doing nothing, watch it. It is worth it.