If you’ve ever seen those weathered old stone carvings from ancient Rome, you might have wondered how historians figure out what they really say. It turns out, those inscriptions can be tricky to read — the text is often faded, broken, or worn down over centuries. But now, a new AI from Google DeepMind is stepping in to help crack these ancient codes.
The tool, called Aeneas, is designed to analyze Latin inscriptions on stone. But it doesn’t just read the text; it tries to figure out when and where the inscription was originally made. This is a big deal because it adds important context that helps historians understand the meaning behind these ancient messages.
Aeneas builds on Google’s earlier project, Ithaca, which was also about using AI to piece together old texts and scripts. Ithaca worked more like a detective, reconstructing broken or incomplete inscriptions. Aeneas goes a step further by putting those reconstructions into time and place—almost like giving historians a time-traveling map.
Why is this helpful? Well, ancient inscriptions are more than just old writings. They’re clues about history, culture, and daily life thousands of years ago. Being able to date them accurately and connect them to specific locations gives historians a clearer picture and helps avoid guesswork.
I find this fascinating because it shows AI being used for something beyond the usual tech or business stuff. It’s teaming up with history experts to uncover stories long lost to time. Imagine eventually being able to walk up to an ancient stone and have the AI tell you its story—when it was carved, by whom, and what it meant.
There’s still a lot of work to do, of course. AI tools need plenty of data and expert input to get things right. But this is a promising step toward making ancient history a little less mysterious and a lot more accessible.
If you’re curious about how technology and history mix, tools like Aeneas are a neat example of what’s possible. It’s like giving historians a super-powered pair of glasses to read the past more clearly than ever before.