Lhe mysteries of Pompeii continue to fascinate scientists. Very often, interpretations of its remains have been influenced by prejudices or by the cultural and historical context of the time.
In the year 79, the eruption of Vesuvius engulfed Pompeii under tons of ash. Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli had the innovative idea of pouring plaster into the cavities left by the victims’ bodies, thus making it possible to reconstruct their final postures. These casts remained for a long time the privileged witnesses of the catastrophe and nourished the stories about the life and death of the Pompeians… until a new genetic analysis came to overturn these beliefs.
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On November 7, an international team composed of biologists, anthropologists, geneticists and archaeologists from the universities of Florence, California and Harvard published a study in Current Biologyrelayed by CNN, which calls into question certain historical interpretations. By extracting DNA from skeletal fragments found in 14 of the 86 casts currently under restoration, researchers were able to determine the sex, relationships and origins of several victims of the eruption.
Family ties re-evaluated
The study highlights several misinterpretations that have persisted for years. A striking example is that of an adult person wearing a gold bracelet and holding a […] Read more
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