EduceLab

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/22/science/herculaneum-scrolls-lead-ink-experiment

How lead-based ink may reveal hidden text on scorched Herculaneum scrolls | CNN By re-creating carbonized scrolls, researchers found lead-based ink is easier to detect with X-rays, potentially helping AI reveal texts in Herculaneum scrolls.

https://youtu.be/eZWtI3PL8VY?si=CYxDp5BY_Dn8RE2E

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You know you've made an impact when your research appears in an SAT test question! University of Kentucky Pigman College of Engineering

A vast library thought to have belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law was rediscovered in 1750. Since then, the finest scholars of every era have tried to read its scrolls and largely failed. Until now https://econ.st/3R1FFxL

Announcing the release of our NEH-funded virtual exhibit on the American Revolution fortification site of Butts Hill in Rhode Island. Three of our NSF-REU alumni and two of our current graduate students were involved in initial work in 2024 on site and with the analysis leading to the 2025 field work and resulting paper in Heritage.

Virtual Exhibition of the American Revolution Fortification at Butts Hill (Portsmouth, Rhode Island) The American Continental Army initially built an artillery emplacement, or battery, in what was then known as Windmill Hill at the start of the revolution. British forces occupied the area following the 1776 Declaration of Independence. George Washington, as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Arm...

How can twenty-first century technology help us better understand an eighteenth-century battlefield?

A collaborative team from the University of Kentucky of Kentucky's EduceLab, Stonehill College, and the Battle of Rhode Island Association used advanced, non-destructive remote sensing to study Butts Hill Fort in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. This Revolutionary War fortification played a critical role in military strategy during the 1778 campaign.

Using the EduceLab MOBILE van to bring field instruments to the site, the researchers conducted surveys with LiDAR and ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Their results show subsurface features that may represent the remains of British barracks—structures potentially preserved just centimeters below the ground surface.

This work was supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Celebrate America initiative, demonstrating how modern technology can inform preservation, interpretation, and public history.

📘 Full study in Heritage: https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8100430

🎓 Field school and site documentation: https://battleofrhodeisland.org/archaeological-field-school-at-butts-hill-fort/

📰 UK announcement: https://anthropology.as.uky.edu/ultra-modern-technology-allows-uk-researchers-probe-site-revolutionary-war-fort

📸Credit: Battle of Rhode Island Association, Keppeler et al.

The latest episode of 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝘼𝙧𝙚 dives into one of the most extraordinary stories in heritage science: the race to read the Herculaneum scrolls.

Led by Prof. William Seales, Director of EduceLab, shares how AI, advanced imaging, and years of persistence are finally revealing texts lost since the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. What was once considered unreadable is now becoming accessible, thanks to the Vesuvius Challenge and groundbreaking interdisciplinary collaboration.

This is a must-listen for anyone interested in ancient history, digital humanities, or the power of innovation to unlock the past.

🎧 Listen here: https://shows.acast.com/where-the-wild-thoughts-are/episodes/herculaneum-scrolls-cracking-the-impossible
🎙️ Hosted by: Jo Marchant | Featuring Prof. Brent Seales



University of Kentucky Pigman College of Engineering University of Kentucky

Herculaneum scrolls: Cracking the impossible | Where The Wild Thoughts Are Jo Marchant meets Brent Seales

📜 Major Grant Awarded!
Brent Seales, Heritage Science Chair in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky, has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant as part of an international team working to unlock the secrets of the Herculaneum scrolls.

💶 The $13.5 million (€11.5 million) grant will fund “UnLost: Uncovering Lost Knowledge from the Ancient Library of Herculaneum” — a bold interdisciplinary project led by experts in papyrology and computer science from around the world.

“This Synergy Grant gives us the resources and partnership structure we need to pursue what was once thought impossible — a full-scale recovery of the lost library of Herculaneum,” said Dr. Seales. “I’m honored to be part of a project that will rewrite what we know about the ancient world.”

Seales is collaborating with leading scholars in Germany and Italy, including:
🇩🇪 Vincent Christlein – Senior Researcher & Head of the Computer Vision Group at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg ()
🇮🇹 Federica Grazia Nicolardi – Associate Professor of Papyrology at Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II ()

🔍 A thrilling step forward in heritage science and ancient knowledge recovery!

Read more here: https://uknow.uky.edu/research/uk-s-brent-seales-global-team-secures-europe-s-top-research-grant-digitally-decode

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Professor Brent Seales was featured today on CBS News This Morning!

AI is helping to solve an ancient mystery involving Mount Vesuvius. Here's how. Artificial intelligence is helping to solve an ancient mystery from the Roman Empire. It involves scrolls from a library that was buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. CBS News' Chris Livesay reports.