© 2024 SDPB Radio
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Secrets of the Dead

How Technology Revived Seneca the Elder

Season 21 Episode 6 | 2m 53s

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.

SECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.
Extras
Watch • 2:50
Secrets of the Dead
A Gruesome Discovery in Rural Poland
In 2022, a team of archaeologists unearthed a strange burial in the Polish village of Pień.
Clip: S22 E2 | 2:50
Watch • 1:44
Secrets of the Dead
Reconstructing the Face of a 17-Century Woman
A forensic artist reconstructs the face of a woman buried as a vampire in 17-century Poland.
Clip: S22 E2 | 1:44
Watch • 2:48
Secrets of the Dead
Radar Technologies Aid in Search for Civil War Burial Site
A team searches for the remains of the soldiers slain in the Simpsonville Massacre.
Clip: S22 E1 | 2:48
Watch • 2:17
Secrets of the Dead
Remembering the Fallen Soldiers of the Simpsonville Massacre
The search for the remains of 5th U.S. Colored Cavalry in Kentucky begins.
Clip: S22 E1 | 2:17
Watch • 3:34
Secrets of the Dead
Decoding the Herculaneum Scrolls: AI Meets Ancient Texts
Artificial intelligence is used to find out what some carbonized Herculaneum scrolls say.
Clip: S21 E6 | 3:34
Watch • 2:25
Secrets of the Dead
Another Composer in the Mozart Family?
Letters between siblings Wolfgang and Maria Anna Mozart suggest she, too, composed music.
Clip: S21 E5 | 2:25
Watch • 1:30
Secrets of the Dead
Clues in Maria Anna Mozart's Childhood Notebook
Is there evidence Maria Anna Mozart composed music recorded in her childhood notebook?
Clip: S21 E5 | 1:30
Watch • 0:32
Secrets of the Dead
Preview | Lost Treasures of Angkor – King's Gold
Priceless artifacts in Laos reveal holy sites from the early days of the Khmer Empire.
Preview: S22 E4 | 0:32
Watch • 0:32
Secrets of the Dead
Preview | Lost Treasures of Angkor – The Discovery
The discovery of priceless artifacts in Laos sheds light on the ancient Khmer Empire.
Preview: S22 E3 | 0:32
Watch • 0:32
Secrets of the Dead
Preview | Field of Vampires
Uncover the mystery behind the discovery of more than 50 "vampire" burials.
Preview: S22 E2 | 0:32
Latest Episodes
All
  • All
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 22
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 21
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 20
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 19
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 18
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 17
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 16
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 15
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 14
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 13
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 12
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 11
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 10
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 9
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 8
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 7
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 6
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 5
  • Secrets of the Dead Season 4
Secrets of the Dead
Lost Treasures of Angkor – King's Gold
Priceless artifacts in Laos reveal holy sites from the early days of the Khmer Empire.
Episode: S22 E4
Secrets of the Dead
Lost Treasures of Angkor – The Discovery
The discovery of priceless artifacts in Laos sheds light on the ancient Khmer Empire.
Episode: S22 E3
Watch • 55:15
Secrets of the Dead
Field of Vampires
Uncover the mystery behind the discovery of more than 50 "vampire" burials.
Episode: S22 E2 | 55:15
Watch • 55:23
Secrets of the Dead
The Civil War's Lost Massacre
A search for the remains of Black Union soldiers murdered toward the end of the Civil War.
Episode: S22 E1 | 55:23
Watch • 55:15
Secrets of the Dead
The Herculaneum Scrolls
Scientists attempt to read ancient scrolls carbonized by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
Episode: S21 E6 | 55:15
Watch • 55:15
Secrets of the Dead
Mozart's Sister
Learn the untold story of Maria Anna Mozart, Wolfgang’s older sister and collaborator.
Episode: S21 E5 | 55:15
Watch • 54:45
Secrets of the Dead
Returning to Babylon
Archaeologists search for Assyrian artifacts that survived the Isis occupation of Mosul.
Episode: S21 E4 | 54:45
Watch • 55:16
Secrets of the Dead
The Princes in the Tower
Find out if the 15th-century murder of two princes in the Tower of London can be solved.
Episode: S21 E3 | 55:16
Watch • 55:16
Secrets of the Dead
Death in Britannia
Uncover the only evidence of crucifixion in Roman-occupied Britain.
Episode: S21 E2 | 55:16
Watch • 54:46
Secrets of the Dead
Eiffel's Race to the Top
Discover the untold story of Paris’ most famous landmark and the race to top 1,000 feet.
Episode: S21 E1 | 54:46