The story along with technology always surprises us. Recently, it was published that a 2,000-year-old book could be deciphered by AI. This is the story of Alexander the Great. The book was partially destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, and, centuries later, was given to Napoleon Bonaparte. Check out more about this case.
Stories from 2,000 years ago about Alexander the Great could be revealed by AI
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It is surprising just to think about the possibility of knowing more about the history of Alexander the Great. For researchers, this would be an incredible advance. Imagine using AI to discern a weak ink book so old.
But for Richard Janko, distinguished professor of classical studies at the University of Michigan, Gerald F. Else, this will all be a lost job.
He goes on to say that only parts of the damaged text can actually be read and understood, and that it contains several Macedonian dynasties and Alexander's generals.
Where is the book from?
Janko says the book is from a Papyrus Village in Herculaneum. It was destroyed after Mount Vesuvius erupted after the turn of the first millennium. The various papyrus scrolls were charred after the eruption.
At some point in history, the text was given to Napoleon Bonaparte and he then gave it to the Institut de France in Paris, where it now resides.
Revealing the text
To reveal what is written in the text, Janko has been studying the papyrus. He and his team trained an AI machine to detect papyrus inks and then analyzed ancient parchments with computed tomography (CT).
many mysteries
Janko also noted that many texts in the village were written by Philodemus and discuss philosophy, not history. Furthermore, there are possibilities that Philodemus used it as a reference to write his work “About the good king according to Homer”.
In this work, he compares post-Alexander kings with those who reigned before, casting a negative light on post-Alexander kings.