London — The Herculaneum scrolls have remained one of the many tantalizing mysteries of the ancient world for almost 2,000 years. Burnt to a crisp by lava from Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 ...

which are made from a thick paper-like material called papyrus, were prised open but they crumbled into pieces. The University of Oxford's Bodleian Library holds several of the scrolls.