Assessing Pompeii victims closer

[guy]

Scientists have been able to more closely assess the remains of two victims who died in Pompeii in 79 AD. Through DNA sequencing, they were able to gain new insights into the lives of those who lived in the ancient city.
 

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The researchers examined the remains of two individuals who were found in the House of the Craftsman in Pompeii and extracted their DNA. The shape, structure, and length of the skeletons indicated that one set of remains belonged to a male who was aged between 35 to 40 years at the time of his death, while the other set of remains belonged to a female aged over 50 years old.

Analyses of the male individual’s mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA also identified groups of genes that are commonly found in those from the island of Sardinia, but not among other individuals who lived in Italy during the Roman Imperial age. This suggests that there may have been high levels of genetic diversity across the Italian Peninsula during this time.

Additional analyses of the male individual’s skeleton and DNA identified lesions in one of the vertebrae and DNA sequences that are commonly found in Mycobacterium, the group of bacteria that the tuberculosis-causing bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis belongs to. This suggests that the individual may have been affected by tuberculosis prior to his death.

 “The findings demonstrate the possibility to retrieve ancient DNA from Pompeiian human remains and provide further insight into the genetic history and lives of this population“

 

 

Radiographic evidence of tuberculosis infection of the lumbar spine of the male victim confirmed by genomic studies.
 

 

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/05/roman-pompeiian-genome-sequenced/143716?amp

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10899-1/figures/4

Edited May 28, 2022 by guy

[guy]

 

Above is a photo of the House of the Craftsman of the two skeletons used for study discovered in 1933.

 

An interesting paragraph from the scientific article linked above:

 

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More than half of individuals found in Pompeii died inside their houses, indicating a collective unawareness of the possibility of a volcanic eruption or that the risk was downplayed due to the relatively common land tremors in the region. Both skeletons have been discovered in anatomical position. They were both leaning on a low relief in a corner of what probably was the dining room, on the remnants of a triclinium, a sort of couch or chaise longue used in Roman buildings during meals.

 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61557424

Edited May 28, 2022 by guy

[caldrail]

Guy - bear in mind that the eruption was not a sudden event. It took ten separate pyroclastic flows to get over the walls and into Pompeii. Those found in their houses were trying to shelter from the pumice rain, which doomed them because the weight of ash and debris built up on the roof and collapsed them.