![]() ![]() The papyrus scrolls of Herculaneum, which were discovered in 1752, have long fascinated and frustrated lovers of antiquity. ![]() It said, in French, “Box containing the remains of papyrus from Herculaneum”-the Roman town destroyed, along with its larger neighbor, Pompeii, in the eruption of Mt. An ornately hand-lettered card was taped to the outside. The institute, which includes the Académie Française, is a jacket-and-tie sort of place.ĭelattre, who is sixty-eight years old and has a dreamy, lost-in-the-vale-of-academe manner, was contemplating a small wooden box on the table in front of him which was labelled “Objet Un.” There are thousands of rare objects in the institute’s library the fact that whatever was inside the box was Object One suggested that it was of some importance. ![]() Daniel Delattre, a distinguished French papyrologist, did not remove his suit jacket. It was a warm day in Paris, and the library of the Institut de France was stuffy and hot. Illustration by Chad Hagen Source: Courtesy Owner of the Archimedes Palimpsest (left) University of Kentucky Vis Center (right) Right: A cross-section of a carbonized scroll from Herculaneum. Left: Multispectral imaging reveals erased ancient writing. ![]()
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