Buried by Vesuvius exhibit

An article on a forthcoming exhibit on Herculaneum. Mostly art and architecture, but some treatment of the scrolls. Also a familiar piglet

http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/exhibitio…mplete-library/

You're welcome! If you can't make it to the exhibit, the article has a link to the catalogs if they're of any interest. Kind of expensive, but cheaper than a plane ticket.

A brief review of the exhibit is at:

http://lacmaonfire.blogspot.com/2019/07/food-s…-and-death.html

It's a brief but interesting review, but I'm noting it primarily due to the last photo, shown just after a photo of the piglet. The object is described as an "iPhone-size sundial in the shape of a prosciutto ham. A missing tail served as the gnomon. The gallery label says: "Its unique shape may be a playful link to Epicurean philosophy, with the pig as symbol of tranquility and freedom from fear of death: piglet today, pork tomorrow—carpe diem."

When people talk about scrolls and fragments, this is what they're referring to....

Apologies for the poor quality cellphone pictures, but I was amazed by these. How people have been able to rescue these texts just boggles the mind. There is also a video describing current efforts with 3D scanning and AI; apparently the technology is still being developed so results are down the road a ways.

Here's an article from 2018 which seems pretty comprehensive:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/buried…ique-180969358/

According to this they've only been successful with small fragments so there's not much text to publish. And in addition to the technological issues, getting access to the scrolls is a major challenge.

Also the Getty is presenting a lecture in October on the subject; maybe the speakers mentioned are worth researching:

https://www.getty.edu/visit/cal/events/ev_2831.html