Resurrect an ancient library from the ashes of a volcano.Win Prizes. Make History.
The Vesuvius Challenge is a machine learning and computer vision competition that has broken through with the Herculaneum scrolls & awarded over $1,000,000 in prizes.
We're still going. 2024's challenge is to go from reading a few passages to entire scrolls.
Our story ↓
79 AD
Mount Vesuvius erupts.
1750 AD
A farmer discovers the buried villa.
2015 AD
Dr. Brent Seales pioneers virtual unwrapping.
2023 AD
A remarkable breakthrough.
2024 AD
The Challenge Continues
Due to the overwhelming success from the past year, the Vesuvius Challenge moves onto its next stage of reading 90% of all four scrolls. Read more about the prizes below, and on how they contribute towards the The Master Plan.
Grand Prize
$200,000
Read 90% of each of Scrolls 1-4
First Automated Segmentation Prize
$100,000
Reproduce the 2023 Grand Prize result but faster
First Letters / First Title Prizes
4 x $60,000
Find first letters in Scrolls 2, 3, and 4, or the title of Scroll 1
Monthly Progress Prizes
$350,000
Open ended prizes from $1,000-20,000
Awarded Prizes
Incredible teams of engineers are helping us unlock these secrets, providing unprecedented access to scrolls that have not been read in two millennia. Learn more about their accomplishments.