Ancient DNA rebuts traditional interpretation of Pompeii

Genetic study based on ancient DNA extracted from the skeletal remains embedded in the Pompeii plaster casts of the victims of volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE contradicts traditional interpretations about the victims’ identities and relationships. Study also show that the Pompeiians were descendent of recent eastern Mediterranean immigrants which is in line with cosmopolitanism observed in the contemporary Roman empire.

Pompeii was an ancient Roman port city in Italy. A massive volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE destroyed and buried the city under ashes killing thousands of its inhabitants. The shapes and forms of the victims were preserved due to compaction of pumice lapilli and ash deposits from the volcanic eruption around the bodies. The outlines of the bodies were recovered by the researchers several centuries later by filling the cavities with plaster. The plaster casts thus created are embedded with skeletal remains of the inhabitants of the city.

The genetic studies using human remains embedded in the plaster casts suffered challenges due to difficulties in recovering ancient DNA. Using PCR-based methods, researchers could retrieve genetic data from short stretches of mitochondrial DNA. Newer technologies have enabled extraction of high-quality ancient DNA (aDNA) from teeth and the petrous bones.

In a study published on 7 November 2024, the researchers, for the first time, generated genome-wide ancient DNA and strontium isotopic data from the human remains in the plaster casts in order to characterize the ancient Pompeian population. Conclusions from the genetic analysis are found to be at odds with the traditional narrative.

Traditionally, “the adult wearing a golden bracelet with a child on the lap” is interpretated as “mother and child”, while “a pair of individuals who had died in an embrace” are thought as sisters. However, genetic analysis found the adult in the first case to be a male unrelated to the child debunking traditional mother-child interpretation. Similarly, at least one individual in the second case of pair of individuals in embrace was found to be a genetic male which rebuts traditional interpretation of sisters. This shows that viewing the past with the modern assumptions about gendered behaviours may not be reliable.

The study also found that the Pompeians were descended mainly from recent immigrants from the eastern Mediterranean which is in line with cosmopolitanism observed in the contemporary Roman empire.

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References:

Pilli E., et al 2024. Ancient DNA challenges prevailing interpretations of the Pompeii plaster casts. Current Biology. Published 7 November 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.007