The two individuals, a man and a woman, laying as they died in the House of the Craftsman.
Two individuals, a man and a woman, laying as they died in the House of the Craftsman in Pompeii, Italy.Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1934, p. 286, fig. 10.
  • The genome of a man who died in the Pompeii eruption is the first of its kind.

  • Researchers think volcanic ash killed the bodies and kept their genes out of the environment.

  • Pompeii was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius over 2,000 years ago.

The city of Pompeii and most of its citizens were buried under tons of volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted. Archeologists have found out what life was like in Pompeii since it was rediscovered in the 18th century.

For the first time, researchers have been able to fully sequence ancient DNA from an individual who died in Vesuvius.

It was really surprising that we could get this kind of result, and it looks like the environment helped.

Study co-author Serena Viva examines the remains of a man who died in Pompeii's eruption.
Serena Viva, coauthor of the new study, examines remains of a man who died at Pompeii.Serena Viva

The House of the Craftsman was first discovered in 1933, and the remains of two individuals were examined in a study published Thursday. One of the remains was a man in his 30s, while the other was a woman in her 50s.

The ancient DNA was taken from parts of the skulls. The skull of one of the individuals yielded enough DNA for a full analysis. Prior to this study, the only long stretches of human and animal DNA from Pompeii had been taken.

The man's genome was similar to that of other groups living in Italy during the Roman Imperial age, as well as to those from the ancient and modern world. Some genes from the sample matched genes found in people who lived on the island of Sardinia, suggesting that there is more genetic diversity in Italy at the time.

Remains of a man who died when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.Serena Viva

The ash from Vesuvius is believed to have killed the bodies, shielding the ancient DNA from environmental factors that can degrade it. The preservation of the bones is very good, they are perfect for collection in a DNA study.

The sample showed possible signs of Tuberculosis of the spine, a disease that was endemic in Roman times, but is rare in the archaeological record.

According to the bioarchaeologist, they died in this position because they didn't have the disease.

Photo of the Pompeii ruins from above, on March 29, 2014.Leonardo Costa Farias

In order to get a better snapshot of life in Pompeii before and during the disaster, the team hopes their techniques can be applied to other victims.

He told Insider that the study made the case for the further analysis of Pompeii individuals. We can really reach an understanding of the population at that time with this picture.

The original article is on Business Insider.

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