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,

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

Shocking DNA evidence finds that the identities of bodies at Pompeii are completely different than what scientists have thought for year.

DNA analysis of victims in Pompeii who died in Mount Vesuvius' eruption reveals some unusual relations between the people who died together.

Researchers have studied the DNA preserved in the skeletal remains of Pompeii volcanic eruption victims. In 79 CE, the violent eruption of the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic system engulfed the Roman town of Pompeii. This massive eruption trapped its inhabitants beneath a thick layer of volcanic ash, and led to the preservation of many bodies.

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.