28 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient Latin texts written on papyrus reveal new information about the Roman world

Researchers funded by the European Union have deciphered ancient Latin texts written on papyrus. This work could reveal a lot about Roman society and education, as well as how Latin’s influence spread.

Although the number of Latin texts found on papyrus dating from the first century BCE to the eighth century CE has grown as a result of new archaeological discoveries, these texts are frequently not given the attention they require. Therefore, they represent a vast untapped source of information and insight into the development of ancient Roman literature, language, history, and society.

Latin texts on papyrus in particular could provide information about the period’s literary and linguistic emigration. This might also reveal more about the educational environment, and paint a clearer picture of the Roman economy and society.

New approach to Latin texts

The EU-funded PLATINUM project, which was funded by the European Research Council, was launched to achieve just this. It began with a preliminary census of existing Latin texts on papyrus, in order to assemble and update collections.

Herculaneum papyrus part. Photo: Public Domain
Herculaneum papyrus part. Photo: Public Domain

“A key innovation was the multidisciplinary way we worked on these texts, bringing them under the spotlights of Latinists, linguists, historians – of Classicists, in general,” explains PLATINUM project coordinator Maria Chiara Scappaticcio from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy.

This work was pulled together to produce the Corpus of Latin Texts on Papyrus, six volumes of which will shortly be published by Cambridge University Press. “This is the major output of the project,” adds Scappaticcio.

“This work collects all the texts of interest, and offers scholars a reference source and tool. Its importance is clear when one compares what we knew about Latin papyri before PLATINUM, and what we know today.”

Groundbreaking linguistic findings

Several interesting findings were made in the course of the project. These include the startling discovery of Seneca the Elder’s Histories. “None of us could have imagined that such an important work would be found in one of the charred papyri from Herculaneum,” says Scappaticcio. “A new chapter in Latin literature has been rewritten thanks to PLATINUM.”

Part of Herculaneum Papyrus 1005. Photo: Public Domain

In addition, many previously unknown texts are now circulating among scholars as a result of the project’s work. The team has helped to forge new partnerships and exchanges between academic and cultural institutions.

“We also discovered the only known Latino-Arabic papyrus,” remarks Scappaticcio. “In this text, the Arabic language has been transliterated in Latin script. This text is unique and provides evidence of interactions between Latin language and culture, and Arabic language and culture in the early medieval Mediterranean.”

Cultural interactions uncovered

The PLATINUM project has helped to shine new light on the spread of Latin, especially in the provinces of the Late Antique Roman Empire.

Careful examination of the actual books, tools and materials that were circulating at the time has provided insights into, for example, how Latin was taught as a foreign language.

“We know now that Latin literature was circulating in the Eastern Roman Empire, and how this literature might have shaped knowledge,” notes Scappaticcio. “One of the main reasons for learning Latin, for example, was the necessity of familiarising oneself with Roman law.”

Scappaticcio believes that this research will benefit not only ancient historians and classical philologists, literates and linguists, but also cultural historians. “The work has opened the door to better understanding cultural interactions at the time,” she says.

“The work of PLATINUM touches on Roman Orientalism, as an aspect of multiculturalism in Antiquity and Late Antiquity.”

Doi: 10.3030/636983

CORDİS

Cover Photo: Carbonized paper, found with other images in an 1858 published book by Giacomo Castrucci.

Related Articles

The Stolen Frescoes were Returned to the Pompeii Archaeological Park

20 May 2021

20 May 2021

Six frescoes ripped from the remains of ancient Roman villas years ago have been returned to the Pompeii archaeological site,...

Kashmir’s Forgotten Temple? Shivlings and Ancient Idols Found Beneath Sacred Spring

4 August 2025

4 August 2025

A routine restoration of the Karkoot Nag spring in the Salia area of Aishmuqam, Anantnag district, Jammu & Kashmir, has...

Shackled skeleton identified as rare evidence of slavery found in Rutland

7 June 2021

7 June 2021

In Rutland, archaeologists discovered an ‘unusual’ skeleton of a Roman slave, who might have been a criminal sentenced to death....

Scientists may have discovered pieces of the Asteroid that caused the extinction of the Dinosaurs

14 May 2022

14 May 2022

Scientists are piecing together remnants of the day the extinction of the dinosaurs began. A tiny fragment of the asteroid...

Only Those on the Righteous Path May Enter Here”: New Mosaics Unearthed in Antalya’s Olympos

19 June 2025

19 June 2025

A newly discovered mosaic inscription at the entrance of a church and elaborately decorated floor mosaics have come to light...

Salt May Have Been Used as Money in Exchanges

24 March 2021

24 March 2021

Salt has always been a precious metal. Salt was needed in many areas, from the preservation of food to the...

Medieval Lincoln imp found in hidden trapdoor above toilet

18 April 2024

18 April 2024

Tracy and Rory Vorster living in Lincoln, England, have discovered a trapdoor in their bathroom with a grotesque face bearing...

Viking Tomb Discovery in Denmark May Reveal Elite Family Linked to King Harald Bluetooth

20 June 2025

20 June 2025

A stunning archaeological discovery near Aarhus, Denmark, has revealed 30 Viking Age graves that may belong to a powerful aristocratic...

Computational Analysis Points to a Non-Traditional Garden of Eden Location – Beneath the Pyramids?

30 April 2025

30 April 2025

A radical new theory proposed by a computer engineer suggests that the biblical Garden of Eden may not be in...

A bronze seal matrix of St George slaying the dragon has been discovered at the royal Château of Villers-Cotterêts in northern France

21 March 2022

21 March 2022

A previously unpublished and unknown bronze seal matrix of Saint George slaying the dragon has been discovered at the royal...

From Caves to Mounds: The Enigmatic Burial Practices of the Southern Jê in Brazil

25 February 2025

25 February 2025

A groundbreaking study published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology sheds light on the enigmatic burial practices of the Southern...

Archaeologists discover bones of a woman who lived 14,000 years ago at a site in The Iberian Peninsula

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

Archaeologists have discovered the bones of a lady who lived 14,000 years ago, the earliest traces of a modern burial...

1,800-Year-Old Roman Victory Goddess Relief Discovered Near Hadrian’s Wall at Vindolanda Fort

21 May 2025

21 May 2025

A rare and symbolically powerful Roman sandstone relief depicting Victoria, the goddess of Victory, has been unearthed at the Vindolanda...

3,000-year-old Treasure on the Iberian Peninsula made with material from a meteorite

7 February 2024

7 February 2024

Scientists have recently discovered that some of the pieces in the amazing Bronze Age collection known as the Villena Treasure,...

3,500-Year-Old Opal Workshop and Rare Lithophones Unearthed in Vietnam

17 August 2025

17 August 2025

Archaeologists in Vietnam’s Gia Lai province have uncovered a remarkable prehistoric site dating back more than 3,500 years. Excavations at...