The Vesuvius challenge …

Whoever they were, we’ll never know.

But as that learned scribe rolled up their papyrus scroll and popped it on the self to look at another day, they’d never have imagined it would remain unseen for almost 2000 years.

But now, that tightly rolled manuscript is under the spotlight.

Once buried deep under volcanic ash at Herculaneum, scientists are using cutting-edge technology to “digitally unwrap” its heat-sealed contents.

As I read the story, I imagined how my brilliant but sadly long-departed geography teacher, Geoff David, would have quivered with excitement at such a find.

Way back then, convinced that anyone over 30 was a nailed-on fossilised relic, I might have imagined him being around when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD.

However, the 3D X-ray scanning equipment and the AI technology deployed to analyse the scroll would have been beyond his comprehension.

Who knows what the contents may reveal?

Could it possibly be the script for one of the long-lost Dad’s Army episodes?

Whatever its contents, can you imagine a digital message lasting that long?

Proof positive that the printed word sticks around and doesn’t get lost in the digital clutter.

Something to bear in mind next time you want your marketing collateral to hang around for longer than it takes to ignore another spammy email.

Until next week!

Alec