EduceLab

How can twenty-first century technology help us better understand an eighteenth-century battlefield?

A collaborative team from the University of Kentucky of Kentucky's EduceLab, Stonehill College, and the Battle of Rhode Island Association used advanced, non-destructive remote sensing to study Butts Hill Fort in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. This Revolutionary War fortification played a critical role in military strategy during the 1778 campaign.

Using the EduceLab MOBILE van to bring field instruments to the site, the researchers conducted surveys with LiDAR and ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Their results show subsurface features that may represent the remains of British barracks—structures potentially preserved just centimeters below the ground surface.

This work was supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Celebrate America initiative, demonstrating how modern technology can inform preservation, interpretation, and public history.

📘 Full study in Heritage: https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8100430

🎓 Field school and site documentation: https://battleofrhodeisland.org/archaeological-field-school-at-butts-hill-fort/

📰 UK announcement: https://anthropology.as.uky.edu/ultra-modern-technology-allows-uk-researchers-probe-site-revolutionary-war-fort

📸Credit: Battle of Rhode Island Association, Keppeler et al.

The latest episode of 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝘼𝙧𝙚 dives into one of the most extraordinary stories in heritage science: the race to read the Herculaneum scrolls.

Led by Prof. William Seales, Director of EduceLab, shares how AI, advanced imaging, and years of persistence are finally revealing texts lost since the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. What was once considered unreadable is now becoming accessible, thanks to the Vesuvius Challenge and groundbreaking interdisciplinary collaboration.

This is a must-listen for anyone interested in ancient history, digital humanities, or the power of innovation to unlock the past.

🎧 Listen here: https://shows.acast.com/where-the-wild-thoughts-are/episodes/herculaneum-scrolls-cracking-the-impossible
🎙️ Hosted by: Jo Marchant | Featuring Prof. Brent Seales



University of Kentucky Pigman College of Engineering University of Kentucky

Herculaneum scrolls: Cracking the impossible | Where The Wild Thoughts Are Jo Marchant meets Brent Seales

📜 Major Grant Awarded!
Brent Seales, Heritage Science Chair in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky, has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant as part of an international team working to unlock the secrets of the Herculaneum scrolls.

💶 The $13.5 million (€11.5 million) grant will fund “UnLost: Uncovering Lost Knowledge from the Ancient Library of Herculaneum” — a bold interdisciplinary project led by experts in papyrology and computer science from around the world.

“This Synergy Grant gives us the resources and partnership structure we need to pursue what was once thought impossible — a full-scale recovery of the lost library of Herculaneum,” said Dr. Seales. “I’m honored to be part of a project that will rewrite what we know about the ancient world.”

Seales is collaborating with leading scholars in Germany and Italy, including:
🇩🇪 Vincent Christlein – Senior Researcher & Head of the Computer Vision Group at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg ()
🇮🇹 Federica Grazia Nicolardi – Associate Professor of Papyrology at Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II ()

🔍 A thrilling step forward in heritage science and ancient knowledge recovery!

Read more here: https://uknow.uky.edu/research/uk-s-brent-seales-global-team-secures-europe-s-top-research-grant-digitally-decode

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Professor Brent Seales was featured today on CBS News This Morning!

AI is helping to solve an ancient mystery involving Mount Vesuvius. Here's how. Artificial intelligence is helping to solve an ancient mystery from the Roman Empire. It involves scrolls from a library that was buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. CBS News' Chris Livesay reports.

✨Welcome to EduceLab – Where Science Meets Cultural Heritage✨

Hi friends! 👋 We’re so excited to officially launch the EduceLab page — your new go-to spot for cutting-edge heritage science research!

Based at the University of Kentucky's College of Engineering, EduceLab is a research lab that uses high-tech tools to study, protect, and better understand cultural heritage objects. From ancient manuscripts to historical buildings, we work with museums, archaeologists, and communities to uncover the stories behind the artifacts that shape our world.

📌 Our mission is to push the boundaries of heritage science research, develop new methodologies, and collaborate with cultural institutions, researchers, and communities across Kentucky and beyond.

📸 Follow us for behind-the-scenes views into the lab, updates on current projects, tech spotlights, fieldwork adventures, and research breakthroughs.

👉 Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and our LinkedIn company page for more content and community updates!

Thanks for joining us—we’re just getting started! 💙