The fans of Plato may put a sigh while reading ‘The Republic’ next time. Well, the place where he was buried has finally been found. Italian researchers suggest that after deciphering an ancient scroll, they have figured out where exactly the foundational thinker of Western philosophy was buried.
Graziano Ranocchia, a philosopher at the University of Pisa, and colleagues used artificial intelligence (AI) to decipher text preserved on charred pieces of papyrus recovered in Herculaneum, an ancient Roman town located near Pompeii, located about 200 km south of Rome according to a translated statement from Italy’s National Research Council.
Hurculaneum was annihilated in 79 AD after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius volcano.
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One of the scrolls carbonised by the eruption includes the writings of Philodemus of Gadara (lived circa 110 to 30 B.C.), an Epicurean philosopher who studied in Athens.. This text, known as the “History of the Academy,” details the academy that Plato founded in the fourth century B.C. and gives details about Plato’s life, including his burial place.
While it was known that Plato, the famous student of Socrates, was buried at the Academy destroyed in 86 BC by a Roman general.
But it wasn’t exactly known where exactly was he buried.
With advancements in technology, researchers were able to employ a variety of cutting-edge techniques including infrared and ultraviolet optical imaging, thermal imaging and tomography to read the ancient papyrus. That papyrus is now part of the collection at the National Library of Naples.
So far, researchers have identified 1,000 words, or roughly 30 per cent of the text written by Philodemus.
“Among the most important news, we read that Plato was buried in the garden reserved for him (a private area intended for the Platonic school) of the Academy in Athens, near the so-called Museion or sacellum sacred to the Muses,” researchers wrote in the statement. “Until now it was only known that he was buried generically in the Academy.”
(With inputs from agencies)
