Pompeii was home to 20,000 people before being destroyed in the explosion, which was visible from more than 40 kilometers (25 mi) away. More than 2,000 people died as a direct result. The city was buried under a 23-foot-deep layer of ash and debris after the volcanic eruption, which protected the ruins from the harmful effects of weather and climate. Since then it has become a popular tourist destination and a rich site of study for archaeologists.
The structure, form and length of both skeletons suggest that one set of remains belonged to a man who was between 35 and 40 years old at the time of his death, while the other was of a 50-year-old woman.
While scientists could obtain ancient DNA from both individuals, they were only able to sequence the entire genome from the remains of the male because there were gaps in the sequences extracted from the remains of the female.
“Pompeii is one of the most unique and remarkable archaeological sites on the planet, and it is one of the reasons we know so much about the classical world. To be able to work and contribute to adding more knowledge about this unique place Unbelievable,” Gabrielle Scorrano, an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen and a lead author of the study, told CNN over email. ,
Pompeii is one of the most intensively studied archaeological sites in the world, but scientists have long shied away from deriving detailed genetic information from the skeletal remains preserved at Pompeii.
Prior to this latest study only short stretches of mitochondrial DNA from human and animal remains from Pompeii had been sequenced, a news release announcing the study said.
Scorrano said it may be possible to successfully extract ancient DNA from their samples because the pyroclastic material — a burning hot mixture of gas, lava and debris — may have been discharged during the eruption, which caused environmental factors such as oxygen in the atmosphere. DNA may be protected from caused disintegration.
“The individuals in Pompeii were not directly exposed to volcanic lava, but were coated in volcanic ash,” Scorrano said.
He said this created an oxygen-free environment, which helped preserve the DNA in the skeletal remains.
“One of the main drivers of DNA degradation is oxygen (the other is water). Temperature acts as a catalyst, accelerating the process. So, if less oxygen is present, how much DNA degradation can occur, It has a limit,” Scorano said.
Analysis of the genome has shed light on the genetic diversity of the human population living on the Italian peninsula when Pompeii was decimated about 2,000 years ago.
The scientists compared the DNA of human remains with 1,030 ancient people and 471 West Eurasian individuals.
Their findings suggest that they shared similar DNA with modern Middle Italians and others who lived in Italy during the Roman Empire era, which ranged from 27 BC to AD 476.
Further analysis of the male individual’s mitochondrial DNA, which is related to his matrilineal ancestry, and his Y chromosome, which denotes the male line, also revealed clusters of genes that are most often found in the peoples of Sardinia, but not Italy. Not among others who lived in during the era of the Roman Empire.
“This is important because it shows that we still don’t know much about genetic diversity at the time of the Roman Empire, and how it affected modern Italians and other Mediterranean populations,” Scorrano said.
The researchers also linked the lesions found during analysis of the male man’s skeleton and DNA to Mycobacterium – the type of bacteria that has been linked to tuberculosis, which suggests that he suffered from the disease before his death.
“It was a great privilege to participate in such a study, Pompeii being a unique context in all the approaches anthropology allows to study the human community involved in a natural disaster,” Scorrano said.