DNA Unveils Surprising New Insights into the Lives of Pompeii’s Victims!

A recent study has redefined much of what we thought we knew about the victims of Pompeii. Led by an international team of researchers and published on 7 November 2024 in Current Biology, this breakthrough research uses ancient DNA extracted from skeletal remains within Pompeii’s iconic plaster casts. These preserved forms have given historians and archaeologists clues about Pompeii’s tragic final hours for centuries—but now, genetic analysis is revealing deeper truths about who these people really were.

For years, scholars studied the positions, clothing, and proximity of these victims to interpret their relationships. In one famous example, an adult adorned with a gold bracelet and holding a child was assumed to be a mother protecting her child. However, DNA analysis now tells a different story, identifying the adult as an unrelated male, challenging assumptions long taken as fact. In another case, two victims once thought to be closely related women turned out to be of different genders, further overturning traditional views.

Photo Credit: Archaeological Park of Pompeii

This research, a collaboration between Harvard University, the University of Florence, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, analysed the DNA of 14 individuals from a sample of 86 casts currently being restored. Using DNA extraction alongside strontium isotope analysis, the team could pinpoint the sex, ancestry, and even family connections of these individuals. According to Alissa Mittnik, an archaeogeneticist from Harvard and the Max Planck Institute, “Our findings have significant implications for the interpretation of archaeological data and the understanding of ancient societies.” This genetic information is helping historians understand Pompeii as part of the wider, culturally diverse Roman Empire, rather than a homogenous community.

One of the study’s most striking revelations is the diversity of Pompeii’s population. The DNA evidence suggests that many of the people living in Pompeii had roots in the eastern Mediterranean, likely reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of the Roman Empire. In one notable example, a group of four individuals found in the “House of the Golden Bracelet” was once believed to be a nuclear family. Yet, genetic analysis revealed they were unrelated, showing that physical proximity or clothing similarity doesn’t necessarily mean family ties. As David Caramelli from the University of Florence explained, the research challenges prior assumptions about kinship within Pompeii.

This breakthrough highlights the limitations of relying solely on visible context or artefacts when interpreting ancient lives. The study also signals an important shift within archaeology, as researchers increasingly turn to interdisciplinary methods to reconstruct the lives of historical communities.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, explained that DNA analysis is now a cornerstone of Pompeii’s research efforts. The park’s in-house laboratory supports research on human and animal remains, combining isotopic analysis, diagnostics, geology, and volcanology to offer a fuller understanding of Pompeii. Together, these methods are transforming our understanding of Pompeii’s people, inviting us to rethink the narratives woven around their final moments.