Scientists studying DNA find one person in scene of cowering family was a man and not a ‘mother’
It is a tragic moment, frozen in time: a family of four shelters beneath a staircase as ash and pumice rains down on Pompeii. But scientists studying DNA of the victims say this famous scene is not what it seems: the “mother” of the group is actually a man.
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, the Roman town of Pompeii was destroyed, and its remaining inhabitants were buried beneath a thick blanket of ash and pumice. These victims were later immortalised by archaeologists who used plaster to fill the voids left by their bodies.
About Author
More Stories
French minister scraps holy site visit after Israeli police arrest gendarmes
Cuba reels as Hurricane Rafael knocks out power grid and destroys homes
Power station-turned-event space lights up Australian architecture awards