Skip to main content
Back to Show
Secrets of the Dead

How Technology Revived Seneca the Elder

Researcher Valeria Piano employs two different technological methods to decipher a carbonized scroll from Herculaneum. First, she uses a microscope to examine the texts, and then she studies images of the scrolls produced with infrared light. Her work has brought to light a history of Rome written by Seneca the Elder, long thought to have been lost forever.

Support Provided By
Season
Lost Treasures of Angkor – The Discovery
55:15
The discovery of priceless artifacts in Laos sheds light on the ancient Khmer Empire.
Field of Vampires
55:15
Uncover the mystery behind the discovery of more than 50 "vampire" burials.
The Civil War's Lost Massacre
55:23
A search for the remains of Black Union soldiers murdered toward the end of the Civil War.
The Herculaneum Scrolls
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:15
Scientists attempt to read ancient scrolls carbonized by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
Mozart's Sister
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:15
Learn the untold story of Maria Anna Mozart, Wolfgang’s older sister and collaborator.
Returning to Babylon
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:45
Archaeologists search for Assyrian artifacts that survived the Isis occupation of Mosul.
The Princes in the Tower
55:15
Find out if the 15th-century murder of two princes in the Tower of London can be solved.
Death in Britannia
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:15
Uncover the only evidence of crucifixion in Roman-occupied Britain.
Eiffel's Race to the Top
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:45
Discover the untold story of Paris’ most famous landmark and the race to top 1,000 feet.
Jurassic Fortunes
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:01
Discover the world of dinosaur fossil collecting, an unusual hobby with a growing market.
The Sunken Basilica
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:15
Explore the sunken remains of an early Christian basilica in western Turkey.
Hidden in the Amazon
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:40
New evidence sheds light on the early indigenous societies of the Amazon.
Active loading indicator