New DNA tests of Pompeii dead upend popular stories
An analysis of skeletal remains revealed that some Mount Vesuvius victims have been wrongly identified


What happened
Plaster casts of calcified Pompeii residents have long been used by archaeologists to tell the stories of the last, desperate moments of ancient Romans before they were buried and preserved in pyroclastic ash from Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. But new DNA evidence shows that many of those stories are wrong, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Current Biology.
Who said what
A team of U.S. and European researchers conducted genomic testing on skeletal remains embedded in 14 casts undergoing restoration, including two people embracing and the four-member "Family in the House of the Golden Bracelet." The presumed nuclear family — including a mother wearing the distinctive bracelet, with a child on her lap — turned out to be four unrelated males, the researchers said. At least one of the entwined "Two Maidens," long believed to be sisters or a mother and daughter, was a male, and the pair were not related. Many of the calcified Pompeiians appear to have immigrated, by choice or force, from the eastern Mediterranean or North Africa.
"Sometimes, what you think you see is not what it is," said Harvard geneticist David Reich, one of the leaders of the study. This "new scientific tool" of ancient DNA analysis reminds us "the past is, as the cliché goes, an undiscovered country." Scientifically revealing "the actual lives of the victims" is "much more respectful than just using them as props for storytelling," said Estelle Lazer, an archaeologist who previously used CAT scans and X-rays to analyze the casts, to The Washington Post.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
The new discoveries will help researchers better understand not just Pompeii but also gender and migration in the Roman Empire.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The 50-year battle for Western Sahara
The Explainer UK is latest country to back Moroccan plan to end decades-long dispute with Algerian-backed Polisario Front
-
What It Feels Like for a Girl: a 'fearless and compelling' coming-of-age drama
The Week Recommends Ellis Howard dazzles in this 'sharply written' adaptation of Paris Lees' memoir
-
Sports betting is causing athletes to be abused and harassed online
Under the radar Baseball players, tennis stars and others have raised the alarm
-
Is the world losing scientific innovation?
Today's big question New research seems to be less exciting
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Full moon calendar: dates and times for every full moon this year
In depth When to see the lunar phenomenon every month
-
A zombie volcano is coming back to life, but there is no need to worry just yet
Under the radar Uturuncu's seismic activity is the result of a hydrothermal system
-
'Bioelectric bacteria on steroids' could aid in pollutant cleanup and energy renewal
Under the radar The new species is sparking hope for environmental efforts
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Earth's oceans were once green and could one day turn purple
Under the radar The current blue may be temporary
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands