Lead detection reveals text in burned scrolls

Researchers have made their own burned, rolled-up papyri and showed that they can decipher the text by detecting the element lead in the ink. Using X-ray computed tomography (CT) and X-ray fluorescence to spot lead, the team was able to virtually unroll the scrolls and clearly read the text within. “The letters lit up like a Christmas tree,” says retired inventor and study co-author Douglas Seiler. This technique could help researchers read thousands of ancient scrolls recovered from the Roman town of Herculaneum, which were charred by the eruption of Vesuvius — if they contain ink.