Some of the people who were buried in Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted may have been misidentified, according to fresh evidence.
Fourteen casts of victims discovered in the remains of the Roman city destroyed in 79 AD were subjected to DNA testing by researchers. By using DNA extracted from broken bone fragments they deduced that an adult cradling an infant and sporting a golden bracelet – long assumed to be the mother – was actually a man who had nothing to do with the child.
The house that came to be known as “the house of the golden bracelet” contained a number of surprises. More adult remains were believed to belong to the same family nearby. All four, however, were male and unrelated, according to DNA evidence.
In response to the uncertainty about their genuine identities, Alissa Mittnik of the Max Planck Institute said: “But of course we don't really know and we can't really say who these individuals were and how they interacted with each other.”
David Caramelli of the Universita di Firenze and a co-author of the research said: “This study illustrates how unreliable narratives based on limited evidence can be, often reflecting the worldview of the researchers at the time.”
When the bodies were initially found, scientists made conclusions about their relationships based on their location and placement.
Two bodies discovered near one another in an embrace are another well-known case. Three possible relationships were identified by archaeologists at the time: mother and daughter, two sisters, or lovers. Researchers have now identified the victims as male and female, with one being between the ages of 14 and 19 and the other being 22 after analysing the skeletal remains.
The group discovered that the ancient people were descended from ancestors who probably came from central and eastern Turkey, Sardinia, Lebanon, and Italy, as well as groups from the eastern Mediterranean and North Africa.
Additionally, they were able to piece together their appearance, discovering that two of them had brown eyes and one had dark complexion and black hair.
To understand Pompeii's past more fully more DNA testing is required.
