(by Aniello Sammarco).
Residents of
an ancient Roman villa near the Campania town of Torre
Annunziata, Naples, were healthy but often had dental problems,
according to a new study on the remains of dozens of victims of
the Mt Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD.
The anthropology and DNA study, which is still ongoing and
will be completed at the end of the month, is being carried out
by Professor Nicola Terrenato from the University of Michigan,
Professor Kristina Killgrove from the University of West Florida
and Andrea Acosta, a PhD student at the University of Southern
California.
Researchers are analyzing the remains of at least 54 victims
found in the archaeological area of Oplontis, at the Villa of
Lucius Crassius Tertius near Poppea's Villa, the area's two
major buildings.
The remains were first found in the 1990s in the villa where
they had fled in an attempt to save their lives during the
eruption.
Coins and jewels were found close to their remains.
The new study is revealing precious information on the
lifestyle and diseases of local residents as it is the first to
be conducted on the whole area of Pompeii.
Similar studies had so far focused on the area of
Herculaneum.
The skeletons found include those of two pregnant women who
were almost full-term.
Many of the victims had common genetic traits and were
generally in good health, scientists said after completing the
first phase of the study.
Contrary to former research conducted in other ancient Roman
archaeological areas, studies conducted in the Vesuvius area
enable archaeologists to investigate the lifestyle of
individuals of different ages who died a violent death and were
in the prime of life.
The fact that no pathologies like anemia emerged could mean
that diseases like malaria were not present and that the
population's diet was healthy.
On the contrary, the dental situation varied a lot: many of
the skeletons examined had missing teeth, dental erosion and
several cavities.
The teeth of some children and teens also appeared to show a
prolonged period of sickness or famine.
The research was conducted by the three US universities along
with the direction of the archaeological park of Pompeii and
were funded by the National Endowment for Humanities, the Rust
Family Foundation for Archaeological Research and the University
of West Florida.
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