Lead‑ink triage for charred scrolls

A simple, evidence‑driven approach: scan Herculaneum (and similar) carbonized scrolls for lead signatures to prioritize which lumps will yield readable text via CT and virtual unrolling. Researchers validated this by making replica scrolls with varying lead nitrate in ink, carbonizing them, CT‑scanning and virtually unrolling them to show letters light up where lead was present. — If adopted, handheld or CT lead‑screening could massively accelerate recovery of lost classical texts, shifting debates about cultural patrimony, museum priorities and the ethics of destructive conservation methods.