Virtual unrolling using X-ray computed tomography

Abstract

In recent years the virtual restoration of ancient papyri has become an important research challenge. This is because the papyrus degradation is often very serious, so physical analysis could damage the artifact. In this paper we address the problem of virtual unrolling to read papyrus scroll by avoiding a dangerous physical unrolling. To this aim we propose a virtual restoration method based on software manipulation of X-ray tomographic images. To test the proposed approach, a realistic papyrus model has been made using the ancient method and pigments compatible with the Egyptian use. The stack of 259 slices, obtained through X-Ray Tomography device, has been processed in order to obtain a digital unrolled papyrus that is quite similar to the hypothetical unrolled sheet.