There is something deeply touching in the way modern science is rewriting the story of the victims of Pompeii. DNA analysis of the remains preserved under the ash of Vesuvius is revealing a reality far more complex and surprising than we imagined, made of heroic gestures and unexpected relationships.
The truth emerges from the ashes
He was the archaeologist Joseph Fiorelli to create a 19th-century technique for making casts of bodies buried in volcanic ash. The casts preserved the victims’ final moments, but our interpretations of what we saw were likely influenced by modern biases. Now, DNA is rewriting these stories.
The team led by Professor David Reich of Harvard Medical School analyzed the genetic material of five individuals. The most surprising discovery involved an adult with a gold bracelet clutching a child: it was not a mother with her baby, but a man protecting an unknown child.
Unexpected revelations
Another revelation concerns two dead people embracing who were thought to be sisters, or mother and daughter. Genetic analysis has revealed that at least one of the two was biologically male. As Dr. Alissa Mittnik of the Max Planck Institute, these findings challenge our assumptions about gender and family relationships.
The analysis also revealed that the victims of Pompeii had diverse genetic origins, with a strong Eastern Mediterranean component. This discovery confirms that Pompeii was a cosmopolitan city, a crossroads of cultures in the heart of the Roman Empire.
Between death and survival
Not all, however, died in the eruption of 79 AD. Pliny the Younger, who observed the event from the coast of Misenum, survived to tell us what happened in his letters. Many inhabitants managed to escape in the first moments of the eruption, taking with them precious objects and documents. Their stories of escape and survival They are as much a part of Pompeii's history as those of those who didn't make it.
Carles Lalueza-Fox, biologist of theInstitute of Evolutionary Biology, emphasizes how the discovery of a man with a gold bracelet trying to save an unknown child is culturally more interesting than the traditional interpretation. This human complexity enriches our understanding of the past.
DNA rewrites history
Our findings have significant implications for the interpretation of archaeological data and the understanding of ancient societies.
Archaeogenetics is demonstrating how misleading our assumptions based on contemporary stereotypes can be.
Scholars also found that some poses in the casts may have been manipulated for display purposes, creating narratives that we now know to be false. Now modern technology will make it possible to correct centuries-old errors of interpretation.
Victims of Pompeii, a new look at the past
The research published on Current Biology (I link it to you here) teaches us that historical truth is often more complex and surprising than our preconceptions. The victims of Pompeii continue to speak to us, but now they do so through the universal language of DNA.
These discoveries do not diminish the pathos of the victims of Pompeii; on the contrary, they enrich it with new meanings. Behind each cast there is a human story that we are only now beginning to truly understand, free from the prejudices that have “hidden” it for two millennia.
