Elemental analysis sheds light on Pompeii victims’ final moments

Elemental analysis performed on plaster casts of seven victims of the volcanic eruption that buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii has confirmed that asphyxiation was their likely cause of death. The project used portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques to gain insight into the final moments of people who lived in the city when Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year 79CE.

The casts from Pompeii were first created in the 1870s by injecting plaster into the spaces left by bodies decomposing under the volcanic ash. Due to the way they were made, the casts contain skeletal remains and retain the original body shape.