4 July 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

3,000-Year-Old Iron Age Statuette Discovered in Italian Lake, With Fingerprints of Maker

17 August 2024

17 August 2024

During work in Lake Bolsena, a volcanic lake in central Italy, at the submerged archaeological site of Gran Carro, a ...

A First in Türkiye: ‘Pilgrim Dimitrakis’ Inscribed Skull Found in Sinop

1 August 2024

1 August 2024

A male skull with the Greek inscription “Pilgrim Dimitrakis” was found during archaeological excavations at Balatlar Church in Sinop, on...

Near Prague, a Mysterious 7,000-Year-Old Circular Structure

15 September 2022

15 September 2022

Archaeologists are investigating a 7,000-year-old so-called roundel (known as ‘rondely’ in Czech), and monumental structure located in the Vinoř district...

Advanced imaging techniques reveal secrets of sealed ancient Egyptian animal coffins

21 April 2023

21 April 2023

Researchers from the British Museum have gained valuable insight into the contents of six sealed ancient Egyptian animal coffins using...

Deer stone discovered in Kyrgyzstan

10 April 2023

10 April 2023

A deer stone was found in the Tarmal-Sai settlement in the Kochkor district of the Naryn region in eastern Kyrgyzstan....

From Researchers, a New İnterpretation of Norse Religion

26 February 2021

26 February 2021

Recent research on pre-Christian Norse religions shows that the variation in Norse religions is far greater than previously imagined. Ten...

Saudi Archaeologists have discovered a pre-Islamic Musnad inscription and a bronze bullhead

18 February 2023

18 February 2023

Saudi archaeologists have discovered the longest pre-Islamic Musnad inscription -of the ancient south Arabian script- and three gold rings and...

An archaeological dig at Govan Old Churchyard revealed a remarkable new find: an early medieval ‘Govan Warrior’ stone

19 September 2023

19 September 2023

An archaeological excavation in the churchyard at Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow, a port city on the River Clyde...

3,000-year-old weavings discovered in Alaska’s Alutiiq settlement

3 September 2023

3 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered fragments of woven grass artifacts estimated to be 3,000 years old during excavations at an ancestral sod...

Swiss Scientists Identify Arrowhead Made from a Meteoritic Iron

1 August 2023

1 August 2023

In a recent study of archaeological collections in the Lake Biel region in Switzerland, an arrowhead from the Bronze Age,...

Romania’s 1.95 Million-Year-Old Hominin Evidence Pushes Back the Timeline of Human Presence in Europe

25 January 2025

25 January 2025

A recent study revealed evidence of “hominin activity” in Romania that dates back at least 1.95 million years, making it...

Ancient golden neck ring found in Denmark

24 April 2022

24 April 2022

A one-of-a-kind golden neck ring from the Germanic Iron Age (400-550 A.D.) has been discovered in a field not far...

3,000-year-old Drill Bit Workshop Unearthed in Vietnam’s

13 May 2021

13 May 2021

According to the provincial museum, an ancient drill bit workshop dating back more than 3,000 years has been discovered at...

Jomon Ruins Adding to UNESCO World Heritage List

26 May 2021

26 May 2021

An international advisory panel has recommended that a group of ruins from the ancient Jomon period in northern Japan is...

The largest stone coffin grave found so far at the Yoshinogari Ruins -3.2 meters

30 May 2023

30 May 2023

A grave with a stone coffin around 2.3 meters long and dating to the latter part of the Yayoi Period...