In mere minutes, the giant cloud of ash and gases killed an estimated 2,000 people, many of whom were unearthed more than a thousand years later. Their decomposed bodies were preserved by the ash, and archaeologists were able to reconstruct their forms using plaster casts of the cavities they left behind. More than 100 casts have been made to date.

Analysis of ancient DNA from the ashen casts of Pompeii victims changes presumed relationships between them, and reveals the port city's socioeconomic and geographic diversity.

Bits of human bone recovered from Pompeii, Italy, have yielded DNA from people who died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius — and the genetic data are challenging old assumptions about the victims’ identities and relationships 1. Researchers obtained ...