Preservation of ancient bodies has long given modern society a glimpse into certain historical events. As such, the cast used to preserve the real bodies of the Pompeii victims could've actually damaged the real remains.
Pompeii Human Preservation
The eruption of a volcano that engulfed Pompeii was one of the most tragic happenings in ancient history. Although it happened long ago, preserved human and animal remains have provided researchers with more understanding as to what went down.
One iconic reason why these bodies are remembered is their horrific expressions, showing the final moments of some of their victims. The Pompeii casts have been preserved and shared with generations of people around the world.
However, a new study into the way they were preserved reveals that the plaster used to keep the expression in place could have actually contaminated the actual human remains inside. According to Llorenc Alapont, a University of Valencia archaeologist in Spain, and his colleagues, they believe the plaster contaminated the bodies within.
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Contaminated Remains
According to the archaeologist and colleagues, the plaster contamination results in the bodies' biochemical analysis becoming increasingly difficult. They also say that the contamination has made it hard to come to a final conclusion regarding the actual cause of death for the Pompeii victims.
In a research paper, they explained that plaster affected the elemental profiles of certain cast bones that were already analyzed. In the 1870s, over 100 casts were created through a technique that involved pouring plaster into voids of ash.
The ash came from the decomposed bodies of victims who weren't able to escape the volcanic eruption of 79 C.E. The remaining skeleton fragments were embedded into the Pompeii casts with researchers long attempting to assess the discovered bodies.
Analyzing the Bodies
Alapont and his team used a non-invasive X-ray fluorescence scanning technique to better understand the chemistry of the remains. As such, they found that the bones had altered phosphorus and calcium concentrations.
Because of this approach, they were able to better pinpoint which bones had the most alterations. They pointed out which remains had the least interference from the plaster for them to use in further analysis.
Despite the plaster altering the human remains chemistries, it still had positive effects as it was able to preserve the victim's expressions and other information. Because of the plaster, some of their garments and other objects were also preserved, providing a better cultural understanding of what the Pompeii victims were like.
The researchers highlighted how the bodies were on the ground trying to use their clothes to cover themselves. The suggested causes of death of the victims, at least those in Porta Nola, were that they passed away due to asphyxiation due to the gas and ash coming from the volcano's lava dome which although might have not been extremely hot, is something that the human body can't tolerate past a few minutes.
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