Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

Hence, our desperate desire to read them. And we're talking about something like 800 scrolls still to read.

Well, it's a bit of a warning, isn't it? You're likely to find another copy of the last book by Philodemus that you published. But that, actually, if you're a papyrologist, that's tremendously good news. Because... You know what you're looking for. You know that even if it isn't exactly the same thing, if it's the same author, you know the sort of words he'll use. It'll help you read it.

Well, it's a bit of a warning, isn't it? You're likely to find another copy of the last book by Philodemus that you published. But that, actually, if you're a papyrologist, that's tremendously good news. Because... You know what you're looking for. You know that even if it isn't exactly the same thing, if it's the same author, you know the sort of words he'll use. It'll help you read it.

Well, it's a bit of a warning, isn't it? You're likely to find another copy of the last book by Philodemus that you published. But that, actually, if you're a papyrologist, that's tremendously good news. Because... You know what you're looking for. You know that even if it isn't exactly the same thing, if it's the same author, you know the sort of words he'll use. It'll help you read it.

It'll make it a great deal easier. But if they were the sort of thing that people fantasize that they might discover, like my favorite one is the lost books of Tacitus, who hadn't even... Not the time of the eruption, but people like to imagine every lost work of ancient literature must somehow be there. Everyone nominates their favorite author.

It'll make it a great deal easier. But if they were the sort of thing that people fantasize that they might discover, like my favorite one is the lost books of Tacitus, who hadn't even... Not the time of the eruption, but people like to imagine every lost work of ancient literature must somehow be there. Everyone nominates their favorite author.

It'll make it a great deal easier. But if they were the sort of thing that people fantasize that they might discover, like my favorite one is the lost books of Tacitus, who hadn't even... Not the time of the eruption, but people like to imagine every lost work of ancient literature must somehow be there. Everyone nominates their favorite author.

There were some Latin papyri, and there were some non-philosophical papyri, and I would love it if we found more of them, but... I'm a bit gloomy about it.

There were some Latin papyri, and there were some non-philosophical papyri, and I would love it if we found more of them, but... I'm a bit gloomy about it.

There were some Latin papyri, and there were some non-philosophical papyri, and I would love it if we found more of them, but... I'm a bit gloomy about it.

Yes, of course, we know much too much about how they died and much too little about how they lived. But I think it's one of the most exciting projects still to be done, and it's on the verge of being done, to use their skeletons to understand their lives and not just how they died. So we do know how they died.

Yes, of course, we know much too much about how they died and much too little about how they lived. But I think it's one of the most exciting projects still to be done, and it's on the verge of being done, to use their skeletons to understand their lives and not just how they died. So we do know how they died.

Yes, of course, we know much too much about how they died and much too little about how they lived. But I think it's one of the most exciting projects still to be done, and it's on the verge of being done, to use their skeletons to understand their lives and not just how they died. So we do know how they died.

We can see very clearly that at Herculaneum, unlike Pompeii, they were caught in this superheated pyroclastic surge. And their bodies, their skeletons, show all signs of muscular contraction, which is exactly, apparently, in detail, what you find in victims of a house fire. And their fingers and their toes and their limbs all contract at the moment of death in a fire. It's not nice.

We can see very clearly that at Herculaneum, unlike Pompeii, they were caught in this superheated pyroclastic surge. And their bodies, their skeletons, show all signs of muscular contraction, which is exactly, apparently, in detail, what you find in victims of a house fire. And their fingers and their toes and their limbs all contract at the moment of death in a fire. It's not nice.

We can see very clearly that at Herculaneum, unlike Pompeii, they were caught in this superheated pyroclastic surge. And their bodies, their skeletons, show all signs of muscular contraction, which is exactly, apparently, in detail, what you find in victims of a house fire. And their fingers and their toes and their limbs all contract at the moment of death in a fire. It's not nice.

But let's get beyond how they died. How did they live? Yes. Because the story is all there. The story is in their teeth. Isotopic analysis will tell you, astonishingly, from looking at their teeth, what water they were drinking when the teeth were formed. And because teeth form at different stages in life, they can a bit follow their development. But above all, they say where you were born.

But let's get beyond how they died. How did they live? Yes. Because the story is all there. The story is in their teeth. Isotopic analysis will tell you, astonishingly, from looking at their teeth, what water they were drinking when the teeth were formed. And because teeth form at different stages in life, they can a bit follow their development. But above all, they say where you were born.

But let's get beyond how they died. How did they live? Yes. Because the story is all there. The story is in their teeth. Isotopic analysis will tell you, astonishingly, from looking at their teeth, what water they were drinking when the teeth were formed. And because teeth form at different stages in life, they can a bit follow their development. But above all, they say where you were born.

And to me, that is a project that needs to be done and we need to understand. We've got over 300 skeletons from Herculaneum. And potentially, by looking at their teeth, we can say where they come from, which means were they born in Herculaneum? The water of Herculaneum is very, very distinctive because a volcanic thing is very high in chlorine. So you know a Herculaneum-born tooth.