The ancient city of Pompeii, buried under volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., holds tragic stories of its final moments captured in plaster casts. These casts depict haunting scenes, such as a mother cradling her child and two women embracing as they face their fate.
However, recent DNA evidence is challenging these long-held interpretations, suggesting that our modern perspectives may misinterpret the intricacies of the past. “We were able to disprove or challenge some of the previous narratives built upon how these individuals were found in relation to each other,” stated Alissa Mittnik from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, emphasizing that this insight offers new interpretations of the identities of these individuals.
With an international team that includes scientists from Harvard University and the University of Florence in Italy, Mittnik and her colleagues analyzed genetic material preserved for nearly two thousand years. Following the eruption, victims’ bodies left voids where they once lay, which were used to create casts in the late 1800s.
The researchers focused on 14 plaster casts that were undergoing restoration, extracting DNA from the fragmented skeletal remains interred with them. Their aim was to uncover details about the sex, ancestry, and genetics of the victims to challenge previous assumptions.
Interestingly, the findings from “the house of the golden bracelet,” where the presumed mother and child were discovered, revealed that the individuals were actually male and unrelated to one another. The adult, adorned with a delicate piece of jewelry that lent the house its name, was mistakenly believed to be a woman. Surrounding him were the skeletons of another adult and child, thought to be family members, but DNA analysis showed they too were not connected.
This study highlights that the citizens of Pompeii were not only diverse but primarily descended from eastern Mediterranean immigrants, reflecting a larger trend of migration and cultural interaction throughout the Roman Empire. Located roughly 150 miles (241 kilometers) from Rome, Pompeii was a melting pot of different backgrounds.
Building on previous research conducted in 2022, when scientists first sequenced the genome of a Pompeii victim, this latest study further confirms the potential for retrieving ancient DNA from these historical remains. “They have a better overview of what’s happening in Pompeii because they analyzed different samples,” remarked Gabriele Scorrano of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, a co-author of earlier research who did not participate in this study. “We actually had one genome, one sample, one shot.”
Although there is still much to uncover, said Scorrano, these genetic revelations are gradually piecing together a more accurate depiction of life in the ancient world.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
