Ancient Mysteries

Pompeii, Italy, 79 AD. Around 1 PM on a serene late summer day, the ancient Roman city under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius was abruptly shaken by a colossal volcanic eruption. Within minutes, superheated gas and lava engulfed the city and its surroundings, burying thousands of people alive and turning their home into their tomb. Nearly 2,000 years after the eruption, Pompeii remains a city frozen in time. This catastrophic event was a pyroclastic eruption, where clouds of ash and debris, hundreds of degrees hot, cascaded down the mountain, flash-frying everything in their path. Miraculously, the intense heat carbonized and preserved rather than destroyed various forms of information. Today, well-preserved architecture, wood, organic materials, foodstuffs, human remains, and animal remains, buried beneath the volcanic debris, offer archaeologists and tourists a breathtaking glimpse into the doomed ancient city.

Perhaps the most intriguing discovery beneath the ash was an ancient Roman structure not far from Pompeii known as the Villa of the Papyri. Discovered by well diggers in 1750, this Roman luxury villa, filled with sculptures and marbles, is thought to have been the vacation home of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, a Roman senator. The volcanic ash that buried the villa also preserved a library containing more than 1,800 papyrus scrolls, extraordinary records of the thoughts and writings of people who lived nearly 2,000 years ago. Initially mistaken for branches or logs due to their carbonized, rolled-up state, these texts were later recognized as invaluable literary treasures. The Villa of the Papyri's library is significant as it is the only surviving library from antiquity with its contents intact, including texts from the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st centuries BC, and the 1st century AD. However, many scrolls are so tightly bound and carbonized that they remain virtually untouched for fear of damage.

New technology, developed by the computer science department at the University of Kentucky, presents a potential opportunity to read these ancient texts. This method, known as virtual unwrapping, uses sophisticated x-ray machines to scan the scrolls without damaging them. Virtual unwrapping allows a 360-degree set of views to be collected, creating a 3D model that can be flattened out to read the text. So far, the team has digitally scanned two complete scrolls and several fragments, hoping future advancements in technology will reveal more secrets.

One exciting possibility is that original letters written by the Apostle Paul could be among the Villa of the Papyri's collection. If Paul's letters, dating from around 40 to 50 years after the death of Jesus, were included in the collection, it would represent the earliest Christian material almost dating back to the time of Christ and the disciples. The use of these techniques to uncover history in a forensic manner could reveal more surprising secrets than ever imagined.

In 1900, just off the coast of the small Greek island of Antikythera, Greek divers discovered the remains of an ancient Roman trading ship. Among the salvaged artifacts was a curious, gear-filled, coral-encrusted wooden and bronze box. Known as the Antikythera mechanism, this artifact, dated to the 2nd century BC, was later determined to be a highly sophisticated device, described as an ancient Greek computer. In 2005, advanced scanning technology revealed the device's inner workings, showing it was designed to display the positions of the planets, the Sun, and the Moon, and predict eclipses and other astronomical events. The Antikythera mechanism's accuracy and complexity were unprecedented until the 19th century.

On November 1, 1755, a massive earthquake struck Lisbon, Portugal, causing widespread devastation and killing tens of thousands of people. This disaster, occurring on All Saints' Day, led many to believe it was a punishment from God. However, the Marquis of Pombal, Portugal's prime minister, took practical steps to rebuild the city with earthquake-resistant buildings and a modern grid layout, marking a significant moment in disaster response history.

Stonehenge, an iconic ancient structure in Wiltshire, England, has long fascinated people. Recent discoveries suggest that the area around Stonehenge was a massive graveyard, with many buried individuals suffering from various ailments. Some believe Stonehenge served as a healing site, especially due to the presence of the "bluestones" thought to have healing properties. This belief in the power of nature and the stones' supposed healing energy reflects the ancient cultures' traditions and faith in natural forces.