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,

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

These discoveries were published last week in the Current Biology journal, debunking the former understanding of the demographics of Pompeii victims in addition to how they were connected to one another. Study co author and Harvard University professor David Reich said, “The scientific data we provide do not always align with common assumptions.”

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.

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.

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.