In the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii, houses, frescos, and artifacts have been preserved for visitors to observe. They can also see some of Pompeii’s victims, who were immortalized by 19th-century archaeologists who used plaster to fill the voids left by their burned bodies.

A new study— published in Current Biology by a team of researchers at Harvard University and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii in Naples, Italy—asserts that ancient DNA taken from some of the victims challenges stories long told about those particular Pompeii citizens.

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,

This new study probed the DNA evidence that has been taken from some of these bodies. The team used the same strontium isotopes that were used to date the DNA samples to get a better understanding of the diversity and origins of Pompeii’s residents.

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.

Genetic analysis of five individuals preserved as plaster casts in the ruins of Pompeii contradicts established beliefs about the people and their relationships

The results of new DNA tests just dropped this week, and they prove that we don't know as much about Pompeii as we once believed.

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.