Watch PBS Documentaries online: Episode 3 Out of the Ashes: Recovering The Lost Library of Herculaneum

When the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D., it not only froze an ancient civilization, it also preserved the only surviving library from antiquity. For 250 years, scholars have struggled to unroll and read this collection of 1,800 carbonized and crumbling papyrus rolls found in the wealthy Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum. In the 21st century, promising new technologies--enlisted by the National Library in Naples and Brigham Young University--reveal text that has not been seen for nearly 2,000 years. As archaeologists examine the partially excavated Villa of the Papyri, a new question emerges: Is there another ancient library still buried at Herculaneum?

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