New DNA evidence from Pompeii’s body casts reveals that traditional assumptions about residents’ relationships and origins were often incorrect, showing instead a diverse population with roots in the eastern Mediterranean.

New DNA analysis of skeletal remains from Pompeii reveals that victims of Vesuvius’s eruption have been wrongly identified.

In mere minutes, the giant cloud of ash and gases killed an estimated 2,000 people, many of whom were unearthed more than a thousand years later. Their decomposed bodies were preserved by the ash, and archaeologists were able to reconstruct their forms using plaster casts of the cavities they left behind. More than 100 casts have been made to date.

The findings, which used DNA from the plaster casts of people who died in the Mt. Vesuvius eruption two millennia ago, challenge the traditional gender and familial assumptions about the Pompeiians.

DNA analysis at Pompeii did more than challenge assumptions about family ties; it also revealed the diverse ancestry of Pompeii’s residents.

New DNA studies of those victims tell a different tale than what experts had previously speculated. Common interpretations of three well-known relationships were proven false by the scientific study.

In the ruins of Pompeii, visitors aren’t only able to see the houses, frescos and artifacts of the ancient city’s people. They can also “see” the people themselves: plaster casts of Pompeii citizens’ burned bodies,

A recent DNA study has upended long-held theories about the people who died in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, revealing unexpected details about the demographics and connections among the victims.

The scientific data we provide do not always align with common assumptions,” said study co-author and professor David Reich.