DNA analysis of Vesuvius eruption victims surprised scientists.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, the eruption of Vesuvius obliterated several cities — Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae. In just 15-20 minutes, it claimed the lives of thousands of individuals with its heat and toxic gases, leaving behind only skeletons and voids in the petrified volcanic ash. These voids replicate the shapes of bodies that are no longer present.
The bodies have long since evaporated, but the cavities remain. Filled with plaster or resin, they transform into sculptures – sculptures of the deceased.
DNA has been preserved in the walls of some cavities and in the bones. Recently, scientists have begun analyzing it. The results have been surprising. The latest findings, shared by a large group of geneticists from Italy, the USA, and Germany, were particularly impressive in the journal Current Biology.
1Images of the deceased are created by filling the remaining cavities with plaster or resin.
Photo: EAST NEWS.
They Made Up a Lot
It turned out that the most famous victims, mentioned repeatedly in articles, artistic works, and even films, were not at all who they were believed to be.
2Vesuvius and the cities destroyed by the eruption.
Take, for example, the heartbreaking scene captured in the sculpture of a mother with her child in her arms. The cavities left behind were found in the so-called House of the Golden Bracelet, along with two others – one adult and one child. It was believed that all four were one family. However, it turned out that the child – a boy – was held by a man. A dark-skinned man. But he was not the father; biologically, he had no relation to the child, neither to the one he held nor to the one lying nearby. In fact, none of the four were related. Most likely, they were slaves.
34The child in the arms is neither the mother nor the father. One of the lying "sisters" is definitely a man.
Of the “Two Sisters” found embracing before suffocating and burning, at most one remains after DNA analysis. They were thought to be either sisters or a mother and daughter. Yet one "sister" turned out to be a man again, without any relation. It’s possible that the unfortunate pair were lovers.
Alissa Mittnik, a geneticist from Harvard University, who participated in the study, does not rule out that the second "sister" may have been a man as well.
BY THE WAY
The last day of Pompeii may have occurred later than previously thought
It is known that Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii on August 24, 79 AD. This date was cited by the ancient Roman historian and writer Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus), who reportedly witnessed the eruption from across the Bay of Naples when he was either 17 or 18 years old.
Thirty years later, the "witness" recounted the disaster to another ancient Roman historian, Tacitus. The date became established.
5Archaeologists are still discovering the remains of victims from the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD.
Photo: EAST NEWS.
However, in 2018, an event occurred that cast doubt on the date of the disaster, at least. On a wall closer to the entrance of one of the ancient Pompeian villas, archaeologists found a strange inscription made with charcoal: “XVI K Nov”. This translates to: “16 days until November.” In other words, October 17.
According to archaeologists, the author of the inscription marked the date of the eruption's onset. He managed to leave a "historical testimony" before perishing in the dreadful heat.
The villa belonged to wealthy residents of Pompeii. When the eruption began, they were not at the villa. Only construction workers, who were painting the walls of the interior rooms and pouring the floors, remained – these works were left unfinished. The inscription appeared on a freshly plastered wall in the inner courtyard. The year is not specified, but scholars assert that it was indeed the year 79 AD.
Thus, if we take the "newly uncovered circumstances" literally, Pompeii was destroyed in 79 AD, but in October, not August — that is, nearly two months later.
Whether Pliny the Younger was mistaken, or his friend Tacitus, or the inscription is entirely unrelated, remains unclear.
Textbooks on history have not yet been rewritten.