The skeletons of the people of Herculaneum were found sheltering in boat sheds in 1982. This came as a great surprise to the archaeologists excavating the site as up until the discovery of the skeletons, it was accepted that the people of Herculaneum had all escaped and evacuated the town. Really, those in Herculaneum at the time of the eruption thought that the boat sheds would be the safest place to escape to and that they would be protected from the earthquakes and the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. However, the extreme heat from the pyroclastic surges incinerated their flesh within seconds and resulted in many people's brains bursting from the pressure and heat, leaving holes in the skull. Up to 20 individuals were found in each boat shed chamber and 300 skeletons in total were excavated.
Analysis
The skeletons found at Herculaneum show great level of genetic diversity 1 which adds to our understanding of the town of Herculaneum as a town with a great mix of different people. From analysing the bones, teeth and other aspects of the skeletons a lot can be revealed about ancient Roman life. From looking at the teeth of the skeletons it was found that there was a very low occurrence of cavities and tooth decay, in fact only 3.8% of individuals had decay. 2 This highlights how the Roman people must have taken good care of their teeth and/or their diet must have been relatively healthy to support strong teeth and not cause decay. Their good dental health must have been to a certain extent due to the absence of sugar from the ancient Roman diet and the Romans high consumption of seafood (especially important since Herculaneum was a seaside town) which contained high levels of fluoride would also have been a contributing factor. From this evidence we can be even more sure that seafood was a staple food in the diet of those living in ancient Rome and in towns like Herculaneum at this time. A large number of people also showed a slight underdevelopment of the enamel on teeth which is often linked with malnourishment but it has also been found in healthy communities who ingest great amounts of fluorine and this is most likely the case with Herculaneum. This is because toxic level of fluorine have been associated with volcanic activity which release emission of hydrogen fluorine which can contaminate food and drinking water, showing the effects of the people of Herculaneum living next to Mt Vesuvius, a volcano.3 By analysing the amount of different minerals in the bones, the nutrition of those at Herculaneum can also be determined. High levels of strontium were found from the skeletons and this is an indication that the diet of those at Herculaneum mainly consisted around seafood and vegetables. One disease found in high frequency in the skeletal remains of people at Herculaneum was pleurisy (an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs) which was identified by observing damage on the ribs. This reveals to us, how even in their time, the Romans were exposed to pollution which caused respiratory diseases. Pleurisy was not dependent on sex or age, it affected both children and adults of both sexes. Some factors which caused pleurisy were how polluted the air of Roman houses were where animal and vegetable oils were burned in lamps, there were no chimneys, wood and manure was burnt for warmth and the ventilation was poor. Through this indoor pollution, the people would have inhaled plenty of toxic fumes and a large amount of carbon particles.4 Sixteen adult skeletons found in Herculaneum also showed signs of having the recurrent infectious disease of Brucellosis which is caused by various species of Brucella bacteria and is contracted by eating the meat, milk, yogurt or cheese from infected animals such as goat or sheep. Since only 10% of cases of Brucellosis show skeletal damage in the vertebrae it is very possible that a larger amount of people in Herculaneum were affected by this disease but had not developed any skeletal damage.5 This gives us insight into what kinds of diseases were prevalent in ancient Rome and also shows us how in order to contract this disease, the Romans must have eaten animal products, like goats cheese. The skeleton of a woman at Herculaneum also had some incredibly well-preserved hair near her skull and when examined microscopically, one strand of hair had an egg from lice on it. The woman also had some small depressions in her skull from excessive scratching. In fact 22% of the skulls showed similar depressions 6, so we can assume that lice were not uncommon in ancient Rome.
The skeletons found at Herculaneum show great level of genetic diversity 1 which adds to our understanding of the town of Herculaneum as a town with a great mix of different people. From analysing the bones, teeth and other aspects of the skeletons a lot can be revealed about ancient Roman life. From looking at the teeth of the skeletons it was found that there was a very low occurrence of cavities and tooth decay, in fact only 3.8% of individuals had decay. 2 This highlights how the Roman people must have taken good care of their teeth and/or their diet must have been relatively healthy to support strong teeth and not cause decay. Their good dental health must have been to a certain extent due to the absence of sugar from the ancient Roman diet and the Romans high consumption of seafood (especially important since Herculaneum was a seaside town) which contained high levels of fluoride would also have been a contributing factor. From this evidence we can be even more sure that seafood was a staple food in the diet of those living in ancient Rome and in towns like Herculaneum at this time. A large number of people also showed a slight underdevelopment of the enamel on teeth which is often linked with malnourishment but it has also been found in healthy communities who ingest great amounts of fluorine and this is most likely the case with Herculaneum. This is because toxic level of fluorine have been associated with volcanic activity which release emission of hydrogen fluorine which can contaminate food and drinking water, showing the effects of the people of Herculaneum living next to Mt Vesuvius, a volcano.3 By analysing the amount of different minerals in the bones, the nutrition of those at Herculaneum can also be determined. High levels of strontium were found from the skeletons and this is an indication that the diet of those at Herculaneum mainly consisted around seafood and vegetables. One disease found in high frequency in the skeletal remains of people at Herculaneum was pleurisy (an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs) which was identified by observing damage on the ribs. This reveals to us, how even in their time, the Romans were exposed to pollution which caused respiratory diseases. Pleurisy was not dependent on sex or age, it affected both children and adults of both sexes. Some factors which caused pleurisy were how polluted the air of Roman houses were where animal and vegetable oils were burned in lamps, there were no chimneys, wood and manure was burnt for warmth and the ventilation was poor. Through this indoor pollution, the people would have inhaled plenty of toxic fumes and a large amount of carbon particles.4 Sixteen adult skeletons found in Herculaneum also showed signs of having the recurrent infectious disease of Brucellosis which is caused by various species of Brucella bacteria and is contracted by eating the meat, milk, yogurt or cheese from infected animals such as goat or sheep. Since only 10% of cases of Brucellosis show skeletal damage in the vertebrae it is very possible that a larger amount of people in Herculaneum were affected by this disease but had not developed any skeletal damage.5 This gives us insight into what kinds of diseases were prevalent in ancient Rome and also shows us how in order to contract this disease, the Romans must have eaten animal products, like goats cheese. The skeleton of a woman at Herculaneum also had some incredibly well-preserved hair near her skull and when examined microscopically, one strand of hair had an egg from lice on it. The woman also had some small depressions in her skull from excessive scratching. In fact 22% of the skulls showed similar depressions 6, so we can assume that lice were not uncommon in ancient Rome.
The Ring Lady at Herculaneum
The skeletons in Herculaneum give us some of information on the lives of certain people- their age, gender, occupation and social class. From the items found near different skeletons we can tell which people were carrying which objects and this can give us clues concerning their occupation and social status. The lady seen on the left was a wealthy patrician who was wearing and carrying a lot of heavy gold jewellery as well as some coins in a bag on her hip. From these costly belongings it is evident that she was very rich and her dense, heavy bones support this as the indicate that she was well-nourished. The anatomy of her pubic bones have shown archaeologists that she was about 46 years old when she was killed during the eruption.7 The skeleton of a 37 year old soldier was also found in Herculaneum. His bones showed how muscular and strong he was. He was wearing a belt with silver and bronze plaques and he carried a long sword, a dagger, three gold coins and some silver. The examples of the soldier and the ring lady highlight how the Romans had certain prized possessions which they made sure they took with them. It is also evident that theses people had enough time and enough presence of mind to gather some money and other objects of importance to them before heading down to the boat sheds. A 14-year old girl who is most likely a slave was also found. Scars were found on the bones of her upper arms which exhibit how she must have used those muscles for heavier work than she should have. There were also grooves on her teeth which reveal that she suffered from malnutrition when she was roughly 11 months old and that she had been suffering from severe sickness and/or starvation.8 This reveals to us quite a bit about Roman social life as it was obvious that the lower classes, especially slaves were often malnourished and their bodies had been damaged from over exertion while working. This emphasised the gap between the poor like the slave girl who was very malnourished and the wealthy like the ring lady who was very well-nourished and shows us how slavery was very much a part of ancient Roman social life.
Conclusions
The skeletons found at Herculaneum are unique because there are no other groups of actual skeletons of people from ancient Rome over 1900 years ago that have been so well preserved and it is because of the significant eruption of Mt Vesuvius that we have such valuable evidence of different aspects of life in ancient Rome. The skeletons are also unique because of the wealth of knowledge we can source from them about Roman life at the specific time of 79AD. The rare evidence sourced from the skeletons give us insight into the Romans varied diet from fish to goats cheese and it was discovered that Herculaneum's diet mainly consisted of seafood and vegetables. This proves that the eruption of Mt Vesuvius was significant because we gained knowledge on how the Romans fed themselves based on what was available and abundant to them in their situation - Herculaneum was a coastal town so the people consumed a lot of seafood. The prevalence of pleurisy as a health problem due to the air and indoor pollution of the ancient town put into perspective how all Roman towns would be facing health issues similar to this and show us how air pollution was also a health concern almost 2000 years ago. Other health problems like Brucellosis and lice also reveal how Roman people did not have advanced enough medical care to properly treat these conditions or that some Roman people did not have enough money or time to get treatment for themselves so they just put up with their conditions. This highlights how they got on with life and did not let their ailments limit them. Without the eruption, we would never have known this interesting knowledge of some of the main health problems of the ancient Roman people, and this clearly demonstrates the significance of the eruption as it has helped us to fill in gaps in our understanding of ancient Roman life. Of course, the skeletons have also been essential in determining nature of the eruption and the cause of death for those in Pompeii and Herculaneum. The skeletons are made even more unique as the people of Herculaneum are also brought to life by the information found on them through analysing DNA, bones and teeth and by seeing what objects they carried with them which give us quite a good picture of their life and who they were. This is so unique as it helps us to see the people of Herculaneum as not just lifeless skeletons but as actual human beings who once lived in ancient Rome. The eruption preserved the skeletons in excellent condition and protected in an environment of unchanging temperature and humidity - it would have been impossible to obtain these skeletons and all the information they possess without the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. We were also able to observe how your social status should affect your health and how well-nourished you were. This helps us to understand precisely what it was like to live in ancient Rome and how the social hierarchy was present in all aspects of Roman social life. The time from which we have the skeletons - in 79AD was during the first and second centuries of AD and was also a time where the Romans were almost always cremated when they died, it wasn't until 4th century AD when cremation began to be referred to as a thing of the past.9 So this affirms the uniqueness of the skeletons as virtually all ancient roman people at this time would have been cremated when they died so we would never be able to obtain evidence of their skeletons at all. The eruption of Mt Vesuvius was extremely significant as not only did it preserve these skeletons from time and the elements, it also preserved them from the social customs of the time.
The skeletons found at Herculaneum are unique because there are no other groups of actual skeletons of people from ancient Rome over 1900 years ago that have been so well preserved and it is because of the significant eruption of Mt Vesuvius that we have such valuable evidence of different aspects of life in ancient Rome. The skeletons are also unique because of the wealth of knowledge we can source from them about Roman life at the specific time of 79AD. The rare evidence sourced from the skeletons give us insight into the Romans varied diet from fish to goats cheese and it was discovered that Herculaneum's diet mainly consisted of seafood and vegetables. This proves that the eruption of Mt Vesuvius was significant because we gained knowledge on how the Romans fed themselves based on what was available and abundant to them in their situation - Herculaneum was a coastal town so the people consumed a lot of seafood. The prevalence of pleurisy as a health problem due to the air and indoor pollution of the ancient town put into perspective how all Roman towns would be facing health issues similar to this and show us how air pollution was also a health concern almost 2000 years ago. Other health problems like Brucellosis and lice also reveal how Roman people did not have advanced enough medical care to properly treat these conditions or that some Roman people did not have enough money or time to get treatment for themselves so they just put up with their conditions. This highlights how they got on with life and did not let their ailments limit them. Without the eruption, we would never have known this interesting knowledge of some of the main health problems of the ancient Roman people, and this clearly demonstrates the significance of the eruption as it has helped us to fill in gaps in our understanding of ancient Roman life. Of course, the skeletons have also been essential in determining nature of the eruption and the cause of death for those in Pompeii and Herculaneum. The skeletons are made even more unique as the people of Herculaneum are also brought to life by the information found on them through analysing DNA, bones and teeth and by seeing what objects they carried with them which give us quite a good picture of their life and who they were. This is so unique as it helps us to see the people of Herculaneum as not just lifeless skeletons but as actual human beings who once lived in ancient Rome. The eruption preserved the skeletons in excellent condition and protected in an environment of unchanging temperature and humidity - it would have been impossible to obtain these skeletons and all the information they possess without the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. We were also able to observe how your social status should affect your health and how well-nourished you were. This helps us to understand precisely what it was like to live in ancient Rome and how the social hierarchy was present in all aspects of Roman social life. The time from which we have the skeletons - in 79AD was during the first and second centuries of AD and was also a time where the Romans were almost always cremated when they died, it wasn't until 4th century AD when cremation began to be referred to as a thing of the past.9 So this affirms the uniqueness of the skeletons as virtually all ancient roman people at this time would have been cremated when they died so we would never be able to obtain evidence of their skeletons at all. The eruption of Mt Vesuvius was extremely significant as not only did it preserve these skeletons from time and the elements, it also preserved them from the social customs of the time.
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1 W. Feemster Jashemski, F. Meyer, The Natural History of Pompeii
2 http://www.heritagedaily.com
3 ibid
4 Capasso, L., 2000, Indoor pollution and respiratory diseases in Ancient Rome
5 http://www.docstoc.com – research on the skeletons of Herculaneum 1982-2002
6 Capasso, L. & Di Tota, 1998, Lice Buried under the ashes of Herculaneum
7 J. Deiss, Herculaneum, Italy's Buried Treasure
8 W. Feemster Jashemski, F. Meyer, The Natural History of Pompeii
9 http://www.umich.edu
1 W. Feemster Jashemski, F. Meyer, The Natural History of Pompeii
2 http://www.heritagedaily.com
3 ibid
4 Capasso, L., 2000, Indoor pollution and respiratory diseases in Ancient Rome
5 http://www.docstoc.com – research on the skeletons of Herculaneum 1982-2002
6 Capasso, L. & Di Tota, 1998, Lice Buried under the ashes of Herculaneum
7 J. Deiss, Herculaneum, Italy's Buried Treasure
8 W. Feemster Jashemski, F. Meyer, The Natural History of Pompeii
9 http://www.umich.edu
