Deciphering the ancient scrolls of Herculaneum | 60 Minutes Archive
Nearly two-thousand years ago, Mount Vesuvius buried the ancient city of Herculaneum, and with it, a library full of ancient papyrus scrolls. In 2018, Bill Whitaker reported on an international race to unravel the scrolls' secrets.
"60 Minutes" is the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen's Top 10.
Subscribe to the "60 Minutes" KZhead channel: / 60minutes
Watch full episodes: cbsn.ws/1Qkjo1F
Get more "60 Minutes" from "60 Minutes: Overtime": cbsnews.com/60-minutes/overtime/
Follow "60 Minutes" on Instagram: / 60minutes
Like "60 Minutes" on Facebook: / 60minutes
Follow "60 Minutes" on Twitter: / 60minutes
Subscribe to our newsletter: cbsnews.com/newsletters/
Download the CBS News app: cbsnews.com/mobile/
Try Paramount+ free: paramountplus.com/?ftag=PPM-0...
For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com
They finally get the scrolls open and all it says is “we’ve been trying to reach you about your chariots insurance”
Brilliant! Got that call today actually but for my car's extended warranty. Car doesn't exist lol
It's uplifting to witness Seales' passion and dogged ambition.
😂
haa! Repair warranties for your chariot...
Ahhh brother you made me lol !
What we learn is that spite, envy, pettiness, narcissism, egoism and greed are eternal.
Caligula would have blushed
Those are human characteristics, and as such cannot be eternal.
We already knew that.
The system also doesnt help, pinning academics and institutions against each other instead of facilitating fluid, spontaneous collaboration.
And keeps us from moving forward.
An update from 2024 - The content of most of the previously opened Herculaneum scrolls relates to the Epicurean school of philosophy, founded by the Athenian philosopher Epicurus, who lived from 341 to 270 bc. The scrolls seem to have formed the working library of a follower of Epicurus named Philodemus.
Thanks 🙏 Amazing.
Fascinating! Where can I learn more?
@@haa_vee I found a few links on google.
Spoilers. Lol
Thanks for the update! I was just looking around the internet for any updates
From a CNN article from 2024 "“If you look at the level of the vocabulary (from the passages), there is a really nuanced, intellectual conversation going on here. … It just makes me excited to want to deliver to the scholars an absolutely pristine, complete copy of what this is, so that they can do their work, and then we can fully understand it,” said Seales, who originally created the unwrapping method and has been developing the technology for nearly 20 years." I'm so glad professor Seales was able to decipher them and got the recognition he deserved.
Does he really deserve it? Search for competition to read the scrolls & you will find news from afew months ago with a different narrative. Is this Seals guy just trying to steal the credit?
What did they say?
It says to relax.
I think the refusal to let the person able to decipher them is absolutely down to what is said at 0.35. There is precedent of that attitude.
Three cheers for Professor Seales, who obviously has both the passion and the chops to take us to the finish line!
Yea or either he’s trying to steal the credit! Search for competition to read the scrolls. It was afew months ago, now this narrative is different.
Imagine how much faster they could figure this out if they worked together rather than betting heads and sabotaging each other's work. But eternal is the ego and pride of man.
LOL worked together...... They are Italian........ they want credit , you can bet if he went to Italy , he would be strip searched at the airport & his software stolen.
M - E - N.
HOW IRONIC if within those scrolls was a commentary of the hubris of man.
or about the legal rights of the elites to own all property and knowledge and control its' flow into the world
⚖️ It's the information that's on these scrolls, that's the cause of the hold up: "the Powers that be" are concerned about revealing, as some scrolls will tell a more accurate story, very-very possibly Biblical and certainly Historical. Beth Bartlett Sociologist/Behavioralist and Historian
As scientist myself, I can relate with the drama of the scientific community. There's a lot of sabotage, gatekeeping, deception and scheming.
it says don't buy stuff from Temu.
😂😂😂
60 minutes editing software is from temu
Lol good one
right, TEMU just a disguise, CCP developed, funded and managed - capturing data, as much as possible.
idk man they got some cheap fishin baits
cooperation among the researchers is much more effective than competing with each other.
That is not exactly true. Depends on the situation. If every researcher just cooperated and didn't compete we would have NEVER made the advancements we did and visa versa. Its crazy how people can't comprehend balance and people wonder why there are so many problems.
Also like every other person to exist you would never be able to cooperate with everyone. Even if those people were willing to cooperate with you.
Facts
I wonder how Americans would feel if the Italians wanted exclusive rights to research our sacred historical artifacts. American hubris knows no limit.
@@carlcarlson5553that's the past. We now have elites and scholars worried about being wrong and losing their money. Can't be homeless and compete with a homeowner.
So much educational value and it’s stopped by stupid people with stupid egos
just wait until you hear about all of modern Egyptology
Correct. Human brilliance gets outdone by character weaknesses from the same brilliant people.
Exactly, they have more veneration over Italian heritage than scholastic interest!
its an Italian thing
To be honest there's powers that will stop at nothing to foil any attempt to read or find anything ancient especially if it's thought to be religious in nature. We have thousands of clay tablets that don't need any sort of machine to xray the inside ... simple just translate... they won't because the few they have already translated were similar stories to that of the Bible that were written thousands of years before the Bible making the origins of Bible stories lies and proves the Bible was just a book written by man with hand picked ancient texts leaving out the stories they didn't want to tell or those that didn't fit into religious narratives. In short they are scared to really know or have truth or anything to contradict religious text.
I thought this video was going to be an update about the students who successfully deciphered the first code very recently, instead it’s outdated
Philodemus: the first sentence reads - “As too in the case of food, we do not right away believe things that are scarce to be absolutely more pleasant than those which are abundant,” Researchers reveal first full passages decoded from famously inscrutable Herculaneum scrolls - Feb 2024
@@johnbox271 thank you
Brent Seales has blown his rivals out of the water with his results...bravo.
The librarian raw doggin’ that ancient French scroll was wild.
😭😭😭😭😭😭Blud got a curse
You gotta bag it up ‘fore you touch that skin, baby!
🤣🤣 honestly shocked me like shouldn’t they both be wearing masks and gloves?
I've heard that gloves cause people to tear paper accidentally.
@@Evan-hq5dt - that's why archivists wear cotton gloves, not rubber/nytril
Once the egos are satisfied maybe they’ll get somewhere. Hey why not collaborate?
Fiction gets in the way of Truth
Provincial European petty tyrants.
Interesting question. What causes more advancement, collaboration or competition? Or are both effective?
Yes! Collaboration! What a novel idea.
Italians. Lol
This month winners of the *Vesuvius Challenge* (three students forming a “superteam”) recovered four passages of 140 characters each, with at least 85% of characters recoverable, from one of the Herculaneum scrolls, winning the Vesuvius Challenge Grand Prize of $700,000-and the winning team’s submission included an additional eleven columns of text - more than 2000 characters total. The next challenge: read 90% of each of four scrolls from the collection of the Institut de France in Paris. (The main library of the Villa of the Papyri where the scrolls were found, if it exists, has not yet been excavated and may contain thousands of more scrolls.)
Whenever this guy does a story, I know immediately give a 👍. Never disappoints
Yea but is it fake news? I had saw a video about this afew months ago but decide to watch this one thinking something new was discovered. Now the whole narrative is different!! Sounds like this Seals guy is trying to steal the credit.
@CaptainDickGs he get full cred, sir cpt; cording to this 46Q, sir. I done me some research
"We have been trying to contact you about your cars extended warranty." - Leviticus
🤣🤣🤣💯
That Moses is tenacious!
🤣 👏 & this comment is the winner!
Some Roman traffic rules are known: they were driving on the left side; vehicles were banned in the city during certain times of the day; women were allowed to drive but only about 1 English mile outside of the city, if it wasn't in a religious matter.
🤣
Brilliant, brief, witty, and just a pleasure to watch.
Thats me @6:40 😁
Good luck with your research, young man.
Any updates?
El p
Sure is
Ayooo Momma we made it😊
I am reminded by a quote from a young German woman who loves living in the United States because in Germany, new ideas presented by young people are met with scorn….basically,, “Everything has been done.” But here, new ideas are met with, “Hey! Let’s try it!” She loves it! And this is why Brent Seales is one of my modern day heroes….his imagination and intellectual tenacity are just effing amazing! Wouldn’t it be great if the interpretation of the scrolls were collaboratively completed within the next 20 years??
And that young woman is absolutely right, I have lived in Germany for 25 years and seen this type of thinking in all areas of study and life, sometimes it drives me crazy! many think that that rigidity was the main cause why germany lost WWI and WWII, and I believe so.
EU knows young people always lead to the rise of socialism
@@DrGarriold people are the ones who should STFU
depends of the sub generation and mindsets @@qjtvaddict again each gen have it's own clowns, heroes and parasites so I would not go with your one lined shallow route
nothing will be solved in 20 years or ever, the only solution to this that this is all fake ... they are milking this place only for tourism and soon as something legit it being brought up it gets covered up fast just like any legal disputes or documents tend to get overcomplicated so they can milk your money forever this is the same way my suggestion is move on and dig for actual historical fact, not this Vatican tourist trap nonsense
Imagine being 3 brilliant men, with the knowledge and means of revealing ancient texts that no living human has ever read….and fighting over it like children over a toy.
I'm so glad there are several scientists working on these! The one from University of Kentucky did make enough progress with his AI to read part of one scroll, and it was philosophy. There is another report about it. I hope the scientists will decide to work together so we can read these within our lifetimes! I've thought there might be another book in addition to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Some great stories or poetry. That would be so amazing!
The Italian “scholars” are evil.
imagine if there are works from famous philosophers that were previously thought to be lost to history, or even completely unknown ones!
60 minutes ending in 13 minutes is wild
Shrinkflation is everywhere.
Fifty years ago I was the technician on a CAT scan machine that was able to X-ray mummified animals from Egypt with great detail.
You should say this is from 2018 in the title
the first thing on the screen is "April 2018". like literally the first thing you see.
I really do hope they release all their findings to the public!
Let this guy look at the scrolls!!!!
"Deciphering the ancient scrolls ov Herculaneum" could be a Behemoth song title.
reminds me of Bal-Sagoth songwriting!
The video would be sick!!!!!
maiden
So curious to know what Herculaneum scrolls say, it must have at least some secular parts, which could give a lot of insights to those people's culture and lives. It'll be very interesting.
Clues suggest its epicurean philosophy.
Almost all the deciphered scrolls are Epicurean philosophical texts written by Philodemus of Gadara.
OMG.... need part 2 bro! This is sooo cool!
Recent archival handling techniques for fabric have discarded the old gloved methods due to possibility of tearing and use frequently washed hands instead because fingertips are more sensitive and capable of more delicate maneuvers.
I hope Mr Seals gets to reveal the ancient texts to us 🙏🏻
If your interested in ancient text I have uploaded tons of them. From religions all across the world. I also discuss suppressed history and explain different religions
The scrolls warn of "Ten percent for the big guy"
Lmaooo they also warn about watching out for modern day con-men and conspiracies.
He looks like he’s about to go home, but he’s trying to hurry up and show him the museum with his jacket over his shoulder like that😮
Hey why not try all 3 technologies? All 3 guys should be sharing time with these treasures, whoever gets access. Three brilliant minds are better than one ..
Talk about a cliffhanger!😅 I can hardly wait! 🙌🏼❤️
Fascinating.
Its an absolute treasure beyond anything,and i hope that eventually that century long gone, will speak to us
leave it to Italy to choose national pride over uncovering ancient history
Laughs in zawai hawas
It’s a bit misleading how the Italian find out now about the Dead Sea scrolls if it’s a discovery from years ago? The documentary make it seem like he just discovered that bible scroll yesterday hahahaha
Italian has such deep rich history
Yet another awesome video by 60 minutes!
if they are not willing to give access to such great tech that has almost zero downside to trying then its safe to assume they are in fact worried that they are not indeed the scrolls they are claimed to be
"Almost zero downside?" People have been trying to unravel these scrolls since their discovery in 1752, usually destructively. That's why others want to keep them untouched until a method proven to be non-destructive has been discovered.
But they let the Italian take them to France
This interests me to no end. I watched a report where people want to continue digging for more scrolls, but the conflict of wanting to dig for more scrolls opposed to leaving Herculaneum undisturbed because they don't want to ruin it by exposing it to the elements.
I love how Lando Calrissian has moved on to Journalism 🤩
This is so cool. We need to start scanning anything and everything to expand our understanding of our past.
Excellent ❤
This is the most Italian story ever.
Your mom is disagreeable on this point. You're welcome.
This is so exciting!
Hands down, this is the 🐐 of all videos ever produced! The 3rd time i got caught throwing rocks at the prison, was for similar foolish activities. I knew the incident would send me back cuz i was on probation. Helping her end that relationship and knowing he will at least think twice before beating another queen made it worth the 3yrs....I know better today but evil ruined my brain when i was young.
As a life long cigar smoker that is 100 percent a old dried out cigar
How come I've never seen 60 Minutes last longer than 15?
Most likely, it's another story of ego where individuals decide to monetize it on their channel(s) over “free” viewing of the whole episode on youtube
Segments last approximately 13-15 minutes. Sometimes there are 4 segments, but generally only 3. The program lasts 60 minutes. But I suspect you knew the answer to this.
Fascinating
well it sucks that almost all of this video we don't ever decipher ancient scrolls of Herculaneum. But seeing his Jerusalem results, is amazing. Crazy how how others we're keeping him from doing the testing on the other scrolls simply over money.
Well i understand the tension to read it... It will make a person first to read it a super star in the field and whole world. It's once in a lifetime opportunity
need update!
Google Herculaneum scrolls, first passage was deciphered in feb of this year
this is one of the most amazing and cool things i saw recently.
Amazing? It's anthropogenic. Who cares
@@Ryan88881 hahahahah what ?
@@MyDenis0 Anthropogenic.. As in human/manmade. As in, it's not actual source material for anything metaphysic and/or it's just some standard philosophical spiel. And I say that as someone who's actually interested in the ancient Greco-Roman world. And there's just better, more exciting and fruitful areas of the Greco-Roman era which can be explored.
@@Ryan88881 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣hahahhahahab yoo what are you on about ? How old are you?? Nobody needs to have the same interests as you. And you dont have to have the same interests as others. If you are searching something more from the solving of these scrolls good for you. For me its exciting how they are tryng to revive them. And if any of tbem has even some trivial info as to how romans fed the dogs or made bread for example it would Be much more historicaly important than any other "metaphysic" 🤣🤣🤣 but this is me and its ok if you dont agree.
@@MyDenis0 Interests? We're not talking about mere interests, we're talking about what's actually relevant and/or what will actually bear fruit. This is about what concerns humanity, not what concerns me specifically, or whatever you're construing. "if any of tbem has even some trivial info as to how romans fed the dogs or made bread for example it would Be much more historicaly important than any other 'metaphysi' " This strategy isn't gonna work buddy. You can't just say "X is more historically important than Y" when we know it's not. What's the point in this strategy? The theological or metaphysical *would* be more important and it's absolutely nauseating to pretend like that's debatable. It's not. So are you done. There's no way anyone who's educated about the stuff that's out there would think this is "amazing". If this is one of the "coolest" things you've seen recently I really feel bad for you.
this is so awesome.
I was scrolling and thought it was an incredibly old umbrella that had been in terrible weather for 50 years! Now I’m laughing like a loon in bed, in the dark at my own stupidity 🤦🏼♀️I do hope it will give someone a laugh
I wish ancient people would've just uploaded them to the cloud.
They did, the ash cloud.
Funnily enough, they kinda inadvertently did. Morphic resonance.. Entheogens.
This is what we want to hear more about, OUR history!!
Absolutely Fascinating. Go gettum Brent!
Very Interesting! Thank You!
Legendary fight over these will end with the scrolls being cookbooks.
Scientists were stunned to find that the rolls were actually toilet paper and that the writing was, well, crap.
I just watched that whole thing and it left me hanging😂
Imagine all the thousands of town and cities everywhere
Now, that's a story for the ages .
Can't believe she was unrolling the scroll without gloves.
I am a Kentuckian ❤✝️ awesome finds!!
The world will be a better place when we can work together academiclly and else where. Science and our understanding of the world will move faster.
The forbidden blunts🔥
6 years ago. So? Did he get access?
6:20 handling a meidieval scroll with bear hands and no mask....GREAT JOB! VERY PROFESSIONAL!
C'mon, her hands are human, not bear..
Had the same thought... so sad
@@lynnalexander9674human or bear they both have germs and other elements on their hands that can ruin the scrolls .... Hence why ALL people preserving items wear gloves at least...
I agree about not having the mask but I've had conservation training and they no longer recommend using cotton, latex or nitrile gloves while working with friable or fragile materials anymore. The lost of dexterity and tactile sensations is more risky to the specimen and it's possible to apply too much pressure and damage it. Now the gold standard on handling antiquities is a good and thorough handwashing to remove oils unless said object has a known carcinogen like an arsenic green, then a barrier such as gloves are used.
awesome show
"°... even the first references to jesus..." 😂 Before a minute has passed, this report has already devalued itself into a laughing stock on several levels.
lol nothing of jesus will be in there because he never actually existed. Nice fantasy but its time to face reality
Omg all those dudes lay to this very day after they were toasted. It must of happened extremely fast.. its like a snap shot before they died.. wow 😳
How beautiful the scene is at 12:58😍🌈 picture perfect with the rainbow and statues
That is amazing stuff !
this is so exciting
If it was truly important people would work together instead of against each other. It’s so sad
Go your hardest my love amazing work beyomd comprehension ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
The Getty Villa discussed at around 3:00 is in Pacific Palisades, not Malibu. The main Getty Museum is in Los Angeles proper.
Those 2 Italian scientists look shady as hell
Who knew that charcoal could be so precious.
Its almost like star trek technology, to be able to peer in something that looks like charcole , and retrieve the script 😊
11:06 ❤❤❤ wistful thinking indeed 😅😅
Keep us up to date on this please.
I have to see that recreated Roman villa in Malibu. It looks amazing.
I thought I was looking at the forbidden blunt font a second
Awesome! I've been curious about whether the ruins from ash-covered libraries and other ancient ruins could be resurrected by MRI or X-ray for a long time.
Amazing
More than recognition, mankind should strive to put the records straight. That's when real advancement is attainable.
Shameless poachers!! One publishes a paper and two miraculously scream “that’s MY idea!!” Where the f-k was THEIR papers?!! 🤔🧐
The dude Seales said "if I can't get access to the scrolls, I'll decipher the Bible in the meantime"
At the end of the day, unlocking these scrolls will be a great boon for human knowledge, in many disciplines. However it gets done, whoever gets the credit. So many have already been destroyed by older excavations, treasure hunters, or more primitive attempts to physically unwrap them, instead of the modern digital attempts. Every bit of lost knowledge that humanity recovers is a victory.
Italians and stealing each others idea and credits name a better combo
Based on the statue w/the two men, the Herculaneum's banged nastassia back in the day.
This is exciting. Maybe Aristotle's popular writings? 1800 scrolls!