unrolled for reading, which creates physical stresses in both the papyrus and the ink of scrolls. The term codex technically refers only to manuscript books — those that, at one time, were handwritten. More specifically, a codex is the term used primarily for a bound manuscript from Roman times up through the Middle Ages. From the fourth century on, the codex became the standard format for books, and scrolls were no longer generally used. After the contents of a parchment scroll were copied in codex format, the scroll was seldom preserved. The majority that did survive were found by archaeologists in burial pits and in the buried trash of forgotten communities. Recent Torah scroll discovery The oldest complete Torah scroll was discovered stored in an academic library in Bologna, Italy, by Professor Mauro Perani in 2013. It had been mislabeled in 1889 as dating from the 17th century, but Perani suspected it was actually older as it was written in an earlier Babylonian script. Two tests conducted by laboratories at Italy's University of Salento and at the University of Illinois confirmed that the scroll dates from the second half of the 12th century to the first quarter of the 13th century. Ancient Torah scrolls are rare because when they are damaged they stop being used for liturgies and are buried. The scroll is made up of 58 sections of soft sheep leather. It is 36 meters long and 64 centimeters wide. Modern technology Modern technology may be able to assist in reading ancient scrolls. In January 2015, computer software may be making progress in reading 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scrolls, computer scientists report. After working for more than 10 years on unlocking the contents of damaged Herculaneum scrolls, researchers may be able to progress towards reading the scrolls, which cannot be physically opened. In popular culture Many role-playing games (such as Dungeons & Dragons) feature scrolls as magical items, which cast spells when they are read aloud. Typically, the scroll is consumed in the process. See also Speech scroll Hanging scroll Handscroll Herculaneum papyri Paleography Rotulus Vellum Woodblock printing References External links Digital Scrolling Paintings Project Encyclopaedia Romana: "Scroll and codex" Books by type Scribes Manuscripts by type Textual scholarship Writing media