Charred Papyrus Scrolls Reveal Exact Burial Place of Greek Philosopher Plato | Tech and Science

Herculaneum, like Pompeii, was destroyed by the volcano Vesuvius. That happened in the year 79. The city was buried by a thick mass of lava, rocks and mud of 20 meters. The first excavations began in the eighteenth century.

One of the most famous finds in the city was a collection of more than 1,800 papyrus scrolls and fragments in a luxury villa. The house is therefore known as Villa dei Papiri. The scrolls were charred by the volcano and barely readable. They include texts by the philosopher Philodemus of Gadara, who himself lived in Herculaneaum for a while. Philodemus wrote down the oldest known history of Greek philosophy.

Since the eighteenth century, attempts have been made to unwind the scrolls by machine, but some were completely destroyed. In more recent years, the scientists have scanned the charred scrolls using infrared and ultraviolet radiation. Afterwards, they used artificial intelligence to make the text clearer, eventually revealing more than 1,000 words, about 30 percent of the entire document.

Those 1,000 words are part of a text about the Academy of Athens. That is the school of the Greek philosopher Plato. According to the project’s coordinator, this has produced “a series of new, concrete facts” about Greek philosophers, including Plato.

For example, until now it was known that Plato was buried on the grounds of the Academy after his death. But the charred papyrus scrolls now reveal that a garden set aside especially for him in the Academy was his burial place. The Academy was destroyed in 86 BC. The archaeological site can still be visited in Athens.

It has also become known how Plato would have spent one of his last evenings. Philodemus writes about an encounter between Plato and a “barbarian” musician from Thrace, where Plato speaks disparagingly about the musical and rhythmic abilities of the “barbarian”.

The papyrus scrolls also provide more clarity about the time Plato spent in slavery. Until recently, scholars assumed that Plato was sold into slavery in 387 BC, during his stay at the court of Dionysus I in Syracuse. The texts of Philodemus show that it happened on the island of Aegina as early as 404 BC or just before the death of Socrates (399 BC). Plato was later ransomed by a friend.

According to the scientists, such small corrections are of great scientific value. They do not come from copies of copies of ancient texts, but from the original source. More revelations will come out in the coming years. There are still 1,560 papyrus rolls ready to be deciphered.

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