New DNA evidence from bodies buried in Pompeii is rewriting narratives about the people who lived there.
The volcanic eruption of AD 79 and the 20-foot-deep layer of ash and sediment it released provided the right conditions to capture dozens of bodies in their dying state.
Archaeologists used these impressions to create replicas of the victims, and narratives were woven into books and Hollywood about those who died in more evocative positions.
One of the most famous plaster casts showed an adult holding a child in what appeared to be a loving embrace.
Known as the Two Maidens, they were previously assumed to be a mother who died with her daughter in her arms.
But the new genomic analysis found that the largest body actually belonged to a man who was not genetically related to the boy, who was actually a boy.
The team said their analysis clearly debunked “the stories that have long been told around these individuals.”
Investigators discovered four Pompeian victims in one house and they were all believed to be part of a single family. They initially thought two of the bodies were a woman with a child on her hip (pictured), but DNA testing revealed the adult was an unrelated man.
Alissa Mittnik, from the Max Planck Institute, said: “We were able to refute or challenge some of the previous narratives based on how these individuals stood in relation to each other.
“It opens up different interpretations of who these people might have been.”
He added: “But of course we don’t really know, and we can’t say, who these individuals were and how they interacted with each other.”
The researchers also confirmed that the citizens of Pompeii came from diverse origins, but were mainly descended from immigrants from the eastern Mediterranean, underscoring a broad pattern of movement and cultural exchange in the Roman Empire.
“Our findings have important implications for the interpretation of archaeological data and the understanding of ancient societies,” Mittnik said.
“They highlight the importance of integrating genetic data with archaeological and historical information to avoid misinterpretations based on modern assumptions.”
The researchers focused on 14 casts undergoing restoration, extracting DNA from the fragmented skeletal remains that were mixed in with them.
They hoped to determine the sex, ancestry and genetic relationships between the victims.
Two people were discovered in the Cryptoportico House (pictured) and scientists believed that two of those found hugging were two sisters, a mother and a daughter or lovers. The new investigation confirmed that the victims were men and women and one was between 14 and 19 years old, while the other was 22 years old.
There were several surprises in ‘the house with the gold bracelet’, the house where the supposed mother and child were found.
The adult was wearing an intricate piece of jewelry, which gave the house its name, reinforcing the impression that the victim was a woman.
Nearby were the bodies of another adult and a child believed to be the rest of his family.
DNA evidence showed that all four were men and were not related to each other, clearly showing that “the story that has long been told around these individuals” was wrong, Mittnik said.
The researcher also discovered that the ancient people descended from ancestors who migrated to the region from the eastern Mediterranean, suggesting they had darker traits than previously believed.
They were also able to partially reconstruct the appearance of the individuals, finding that one had black hair and dark skin and two others had brown eyes.
This suggested that their ancestors originated from eastern Mediterranean and North African populations that may have included central and eastern Turkey, Sardinia, Lebanon and Italy.
Researchers said they still need to conduct more genetic testing to fully understand Pompeii’s past.
Study co-author David Caramelli of the Universita di Firenze said: “This study illustrates how unreliable narratives based on limited evidence can be, which often reflect the researchers’ worldview at the time.”
Pompeii was covered in ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, killing everyone in its path and burying the area.
The city was forgotten until its rediscovery in the 18th century, when researchers found dozens of bodies that had been preserved from the soot and ash that covered the streets, buildings and people.
Excavations at Pompeii began in 1748 and although the eruption of Vesuvius completely destroyed the city, pyroclastic deposits preserved the victims, buildings and art.
The victim’s soft tissues had deteriorated over the millennia, but its contours remained intact and were recovered by filling the cavities with plaster, thus preserving its DNA.
A Pompeian man, believed to be the custodian of a house, was found all alone in an upper room (pictured)
When the bodies were first discovered, researchers noted their position relative to each other as well as location, leading to assumptions about their relationships to each other.
During the Pompeii excavations of 1914, nine individuals were discovered in the garden of a house, two of which were found embraced close to each other.
At the time, archaeologists said there were three possibilities for their relationship: they were mother and daughter, two sisters, or lovers.
After scanning the skeletal remains, investigators have now determined that the victims were male and female and one was between the ages of 14 and 19, while the other was 22 years old.
In another case discovered in 1974, four victims were found in a house and were assumed to be a genetically related family.
The first body was that of a four-year-old boy who was identified as a male due to a lump in the cast near his genitals.