A glimpse into the past: Researchers analyse Pompeii DNA

“The scientific data we provide do not always align with common assumptions,” said study co-author and professor David Reich.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF NOVEMBER 10, 2024 13:35

The archaeological site of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii is seen, 2020. (photo credit: VIA REUTERS)

Researchers have sequenced DNA from Pompeii remains, discovering new information about the victims, a new study published in Current Biology was revealed on Thursday.

The study has changed researchers’ understanding of the population of Pompeii who died during the volcanic eruption.

“The scientific data we provide do not always align with common assumptions,” said study coauthor David Reich, professor of genetics and human evolutionary biology at Harvard, in a statement. “These findings challenge traditional gender and familial assumptions.”

Pompeii was engulfed in volcanic ash in 79 C.E. after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which killed thousands of Romans, preserving many of its residents and buildings in casts. 

The remains of Pompeii offer a glimpse into the daily lives of the Romans, showcasing the vivid remnants of the city's destruction after the violent volcanic eruption. 

A view shows a ''bakery-prison'' where slaves and donkeys were locked up to grind the grain needed to make bread, in the ancient archeological site of Pompeii, Italy, in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on December 8, 2023. (credit: Parco archeologico di Pompei/Handout via REUTERS)

Recent efforts to restore and analyze Pompeii’s human casts, studied by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii in 2015, revealed that while none contained complete skeletons, some had preserved bone fragments from which DNA could be extracted. 

Through CT scans and X-rays, scientists confirmed that early archaeologists had modified some of these casts, altering body shapes and adding stabilizers like metal rods.

In this study, Park scientists and researchers worked to better understand the genetic diversity within Pompeii during the Roman Empire.

According to the research, some bones mixed directly with plaster used in the casts and were incredibly fragile, but DNA was able to be extracted and analyzed from multiple fragments.

“It is a ‘genetic’ photo taken of a Roman city from 2000 years ago,” said David Caramelli, director of the biology department and anthropology professor at the University of Florence in Italy, CNN quoted.

---

---

Initial assumptions

Originally, remains found in certain places were thought to be of specific genders or relatives to one another based on location, body position, and any jewelry or personal items with which they were found. 

However, new genetic analysis has allowed researchers to identify not only the gender belonging to some of the victims from the bone fragments but also the general ages of those who had died and at what stage of the eruption they succumbed to their injuries. 

Some initial assumptions turned out to be incorrect. For instance, in one house, two bodies were found embracing and were believed to be those of two females, a mother and a daughter. However, new analysis has revealed that one body is that of a teenager, while the other is a young adult male.