According to the BBC, computer scientist Luke Farritor was awarded the $40,000 prize for finding the first letters, eventually revealing the word “purple.”

The scrolls were part of a large discovery in 1752 of about 800 carbonized scrolls found buried under pumice and ash.

“This word is our first dive into an unopened ancient book, evocative of royalty, wealth, and even mockery,” said University of Kentucky computer scientist and Vesuvius Challenge co-founder Brent Seales. “Pliny the Elder explores ‘purple’ in his ‘natural history’ as a production process for Tyrian purple from shellfish. The Gospel of Mark describes how Jesus was mocked as he was clothed in purple robes before crucifixion. What this particular scroll discusses is still unknown, but I believe it will soon be revealed. An old, new story that starts for us with ‘purple’ is an incredible place to be.”

Seales said he believes the entire message of the scroll will eventually be revealed.

The scrolls are believed to have been part of the library of Philodemus, an Epicurean philosopher.

“Recovering such a library would transform our knowledge of the ancient world in ways we can hardly imagine,” one papyrus expert told The New York Times. “The impact could be as great as the rediscovery of manuscripts during the Renaissance.”

The race is now on to read the remaining text. Dr Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at the University of Naples Federico II, said three lines of the scroll, containing up to 10 letters, were now readable, with more expected to be revealed.

“For me, reading words from within the Herculaneum scrolls is like stepping onto the moon,” Seales said. “Honestly, I knew the text was there, waiting for us to arrive, but arrival only happens at the last step. And with such a talented team working together, reading the words is that step into new territory, and we’ve taken it. Now it is time to explore.”

Photo Courtesy: Getty Images/andrewsafonov