Genetic analysis of five individuals preserved as plaster casts in the ruins of Pompeii contradicts established beliefs about the people and their relationships
By James Woodford
7 November 2024
Plaster casts of people who died in Pompeii. DNA tests show the adult on the right was a male unrelated to the small child on his lap.
Archeological Park of Pompei
Pompeii’s plaster cast human figures aren’t who they were assumed to be, genetic tests have revealed, highlighting the way idealised stories can be projected onto archaeological evidence.
The analysis also reveals that the demography of Pompeii was far more complicated and diverse than previously thought.
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When Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, it buried several Roman towns, including Pompeii. Many of Pompeii’s residents were completely smothered in compacted ash during the eruption and, as their bodies decayed, cavities formed that perfectly preserved their positions in their final moments.
In the 19th century, archaeologists developed a method of pouring plaster into the cavities to make life-like casts. Since then, more than 100 of these casts have been made, preserving the victims’ shapes along with any remaining bones that hadn’t decayed over the centuries.
However, it has long been known that many of the plaster casts were manipulated into different poses and sometimes placed together to add to the drama of the Pompeii story, says Valeria Amoretti at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii in Naples, Italy.