CNN —At first glance, the Herculaneum scrolls look unremarkable, like pieces of coal. Ancient scrolls uncovered from volcanic mudThe 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius, a volcano located near Naples, Italy, covered the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic mud. Herculaneum and the scrolls remained buried until the city’s accidental rediscovery by a worker drilling for a well in the early 1700s, according to the Herculaneum Society. Approximately 1,100 carbonized scrolls, now referred to as the Herculaneum scrolls, were recovered from a building that was believed to be Julius Caesar’s father-in-law’s house, according to the University of Kentucky. “They wrote about love, they wrote about war, they wrote about peace, they argued with each other.

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Persons: Luke Farritor, Brent, Brent Seales, Julius Caesar’s, Michael McOsker, ” McOsker, it’ll, Youssef Nader, —, Seales, ” Seales, “, that’s Organizations: CNN —, University of Nebraska, University of Kentucky, Herculaneum, University College London, Freie University Berlin Locations: Vesuvius, Naples, Italy, Herculaneum, papyrology