Ancient DNA Links Pompeii to the Middle East: Revisiting Southern Italy's Roman Connections

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 24 August 79 CE (or, according to some recent re-readings of the evidence, October 79 CE) buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under ash and pyroclastic flows, preserving with unmatched fidelity the everyday life of a Roman provincial city of the Imperial period. The remains of the victims have been studied for two centuries through skeletal morphology, archaeological context, and material culture. Until very recently, however, the genetic profile of the population was unknown, because the volcanic conditions that preserved the city paradoxically degraded DNA through extreme heat. In 2022, Gabriele Scorrano and colleagues published in Scientific Reports the first whole-genome sequence from a Pompeii victim: a 35-to-50-year-old male recovered from the Casa del Fabbro (House of the Craftsman) on the Via di Stabia. His genome anchored the Pompeii population in the broader picture of Imperial Roman genetic diversity that had emerged from the landmark Antonio et al. 2019 study of ancient Rome. The Pompeii individual's autosomal ancestry showed strong affinity to modern Sardinians and Italians, layered with a significant eastern Mediterranean component pointing to Levantine ancestry, consistent with the documented eastern Mediterranean migration into Imperial Italy. His Y-chromosome and mitochondrial haplogroups likewise reflected a typical Imperial Roman profile rather than an Italic Iron Age substrate. Far from being a homogeneous Italian population, Pompeii reveals itself in genetic terms to have been a Mediterranean cosmopolitan city, with substantial eastern Mediterranean and Levantine input integrated into the broader Sardinian-Italian substrate.

1. The first Pompeii genome: an individual from the Casa del Fabbro

The technical challenge of recovering DNA from Pompeii victims is severe. The high temperatures generated by the pyroclastic flows that buried the city in 79 CE (peak temperatures reaching 400 to 600 degrees Celsius for short periods) would normally destroy DNA. The volcanic preservation conditions that froze in time the wooden doors, painted frescoes, carbonized loaves of bread, and the famous body casts of the victims are not the same conditions that preserve DNA. For decades, ancient DNA work on Pompeii was assumed to be infeasible.

Scorrano and colleagues identified an exception. A male skeleton recovered from the Casa del Fabbro, a residential building on the Via di Stabia, had been protected by specific architectural and depositional circumstances that allowed sufficient DNA preservation in the petrous bone of the skull. The team extracted DNA from this petrous bone, sequenced it to whole-genome coverage, and published the results in 2022. This was the first whole-genome sequence from any Pompeii victim, opening the way to genetic study of the broader Pompeii population in future work.

2. Autosomal ancestry: Sardinian-Italian base with eastern Mediterranean input

The autosomal profile of the Casa del Fabbro male places him within the Imperial Roman demographic landscape that the Antonio et al. 2019 study had documented for the city of Rome itself. The Pompeii individual's strongest single affinity is with modern Sardinians, who preserve a Neolithic-Italian substrate that the Imperial Roman population (and by extension the broader Imperial Italian population) was built upon. The Sardinian-Italian base of the Pompeii male is what would be expected for any Italian individual of the Imperial period.

Beyond this base, however, the Pompeii male carries a significant eastern Mediterranean component. The strongest matches for this component are with populations of Anatolia, the Levant, and the broader eastern Mediterranean. This is consistent with the broader Imperial Roman pattern: by the 1st century CE, the cities of Italy had absorbed substantial migration from the eastern Mediterranean over the preceding centuries, through commerce, slavery (which moved large numbers of eastern Mediterranean individuals into Italy as slaves who often eventually became free residents), military service, administrative migration, and cultural movement. The Casa del Fabbro male is one individual sample of this broader integrated Mediterranean Imperial Roman population.

The G25 coordinates below include the three published Pompeii individuals (including the Casa del Fabbro male, f1R.SG), the Imperial Roman samples from Antonio et al. 2019 (with and without the eastern Levantine signal), the Casal Bertone Roman Imperial individuals, modern Sardinian and Italian regional populations, and Levantine and Lebanese Iron Age reference samples.

Italy_Pompeii_Roman:f1R.SG,0.095611,0.143190,-0.032809,-0.070737,0.000308,-0.020359,-0.001175,0.000692,0.003272,0.020046,0.017051,0.000749,-0.003122,0.004404,0.008007,-0.013524,-0.005867,0.001394,-0.004399,-0.010505,-0.006613,-0.001113,-0.000370,-0.007953,0.007065
Italy_Pompeii_Roman:I3691,0.091058,0.142174,-0.035072,-0.065569,0.006770,-0.034861,0.000000,-0.005077,0.014317,0.022962,0.005684,0.008393,0.009217,0.000826,-0.003800,-0.008618,-0.002738,0.000127,0.015964,-0.004127,-0.000374,-0.006554,-0.004560,-0.009640,0.007903
Italy_Pompeii_Roman:I3690,0.104717,0.143190,-0.025267,-0.069122,0.000000,-0.040160,0.006815,-0.007154,0.012680,-0.007654,-0.000487,-0.012889,0.016799,-0.014175,-0.004207,0.000133,0.000782,0.005448,0.003142,0.004252,0.004742,-0.010263,0.006286,0.019159,0.002634
Italy_Imperial:R113.SG,0.121791,0.158423,-0.008297,-0.042636,0.016003,-0.014223,-0.006345,-0.006231,0.014317,0.031162,0.002598,0.005545,-0.008176,-0.004679,-0.002579,-0.014320,-0.015516,-0.002280,0.004525,-0.019634,0.004742,-0.003586,0.001602,-0.005061,-0.002874
Italy_Imperial:R131.SG,0.111547,0.150298,-0.001886,-0.049096,0.009540,-0.003904,-0.007990,-0.006923,0.006136,0.015308,0.002273,0.004196,0.001487,-0.006744,-0.004750,0.001989,0.010170,0.007855,0.000251,-0.011881,0.002995,0.004822,-0.006286,0.000843,0.001557
Italy_Imperial:R47.SG,0.104717,0.148267,-0.008674,-0.042959,0.010771,-0.016176,-0.001410,-0.005307,0.004500,0.020410,0.003248,0.004796,-0.005946,-0.011285,-0.004750,-0.000265,0.008084,0.002534,-0.003771,0.004502,-0.007237,-0.000495,0.000739,-0.005663,-0.001078
Italy_Imperial_oLevant:R70.SG,0.094473,0.155376,-0.042238,-0.083334,-0.008925,-0.024821,-0.005170,-0.005769,0.008795,0.007472,0.005684,-0.007493,0.007582,-0.005367,-0.007193,0.000796,0.005737,-0.000507,0.000126,0.002751,-0.008485,0.006430,-0.000986,-0.006868,0.002036
Italy_Imperial_oLevant:R1547.SG,0.081953,0.151314,-0.056568,-0.088502,-0.016618,-0.032630,-0.008695,-0.006692,0.013908,0.015855,-0.001299,-0.000450,0.010258,0.000000,-0.002850,-0.003580,0.003781,0.006714,-0.004274,0.000000,0.001872,0.006801,-0.003451,-0.004579,-0.008861
Italy_Imperial_oLevant:R1550.SG,0.079676,0.140143,-0.048649,-0.074936,-0.012002,-0.025379,-0.008930,-0.004154,0.014930,0.003827,0.001624,0.000599,0.007284,-0.008533,0.000679,0.015911,0.018645,0.000760,-0.008422,0.003502,-0.000374,0.005317,0.005300,-0.001446,0.002155
Italy_CasalBertone_RomanImperial:F4_I.SG,0.094473,0.148267,-0.019233,-0.056202,0.010463,-0.013666,-0.003760,-0.001615,-0.003886,0.022597,0.018188,0.002698,-0.002527,-0.009083,-0.008415,0.010607,0.018384,0.001900,0.001885,0.000125,-0.000374,0.007172,-0.003204,-0.004820,-0.004071
Italy_CasalBertone_RomanImperial:T46.SG,0.089920,0.144205,-0.030924,-0.063954,0.000308,-0.016176,-0.001880,-0.003692,-0.001432,0.012939,-0.000162,0.009142,0.001933,0.003028,-0.007736,0.007425,0.001304,0.000000,0.006411,-0.002626,0.001996,-0.002968,0.006902,0.009278,0.009101
Italy_CasalBertone_RomanImperial:T21.SG,0.091058,0.129988,-0.051666,-0.063308,-0.021235,-0.011156,0.008225,-0.003923,-0.016362,-0.006014,-0.006496,0.007643,0.005054,-0.001239,0.010586,0.018828,0.006650,-0.006841,-0.000251,-0.010255,0.001248,0.004575,-0.013188,0.006266,0.002994
Sardinian,0.121687,0.167285,0.02849,-0.050652,0.060151,-0.022134,-0.003952,0.002496,0.041574,0.077351,-0.000059,0.016649,-0.028664,-0.012974,-0.013572,-0.003001,0.011403,-0.001347,0.00168,-0.012995,-0.002121,-0.001102,-0.010084,-0.021383,0.000337
Italian_Lazio,0.11314,0.152736,0.006788,-0.034303,0.021173,-0.010933,0.003243,-0.000277,0.006422,0.024237,0.00052,0.002548,-0.009574,-0.00523,-0.006732,0.002943,0.001043,0.000456,0.00269,-0.004227,-0.001922,0.004229,0.000567,0.000723,-0.000575
Italian_Tuscany,0.11881,0.147784,0.013882,-0.021011,0.025294,-0.008938,-0.001063,-0.001626,0.005649,0.023239,-0.000309,0.006066,-0.011475,-0.003703,-0.002243,-0.000814,0.002154,0.00029,0.003334,-0.003829,-0.001967,0.001407,-0.000734,0.003196,-0.001226
Levant_South,0.085367,0.148674,-0.057398,-0.092508,-0.009602,-0.035029,-0.002209,-0.008169,0.016321,0.008237,0.009159,-0.009921,0.020485,0.011863,-0.005537,0.002121,-0.011239,0.001014,0.002112,-0.003652,-0.000524,0.003116,0.000567,-0.00294,0.004646
Lebanon_IA3.SG,0.0879281,0.15106,-0.0490729,-0.0918128,-0.0102324,-0.0320375,-0.0045531,-0.009288,0.0108651,0.0133488,0.0070232,-0.0040839,0.0111311,0.0019781,-0.0098059,0.0023701,0.0016461,-0.0003326,0.0031268,0.0003438,0.0026984,0.0054406,-0.0038975,-0.0026359,-0.0047451

3. The Y-chromosome and mitochondrial signal

The Y-chromosome of the Casa del Fabbro male was assigned to haplogroup E1b1b-V13 or a closely related sub-clade. This haplogroup originated in the Mediterranean Bronze Age and is widespread in modern southern European populations, with particular concentrations in the Balkans and southern Italy. Its presence in the Pompeii male is consistent with both Italian and broader Mediterranean origins and matches the kind of Y-chromosome diversity that the Antonio et al. 2019 study found in Imperial Rome.

The mitochondrial DNA of the individual was assigned to haplogroup HV or a related Mediterranean lineage. The HV macro-haplogroup and its derivatives are common across the Mediterranean basin and into the Caucasus, with broader eastern Mediterranean affinities. The combination of Y-chromosome E1b-V13 and mitochondrial HV is consistent with the overall pattern of mixed Mediterranean ancestry that the autosomal data revealed.

4. The Imperial Roman demographic context: Antonio et al. 2019

The Pompeii genome can only be fully understood in the context of the broader Imperial Roman population pattern established by Margaret Antonio and colleagues in their 2019 Science paper. Antonio et al. sequenced 127 ancient individuals from the broader Rome region spanning 12,000 years of history, from the Mesolithic through medieval times. The results revealed dramatic demographic changes at Rome through this long period.

The most striking finding for the Imperial period was that the population of Rome between approximately 27 BCE (the establishment of the Empire under Augustus) and the 3rd century CE was demographically transformed by eastern Mediterranean migration. The Imperial Roman population showed strong eastern Mediterranean and Anatolian ancestry, with only a minority of pre-Roman Italic substrate. The eastern shift was so substantial that the average Imperial Roman individual was, in autosomal terms, closer to modern populations of the eastern Mediterranean (Greeks, western Anatolians, Cypriots, and Levantines) than to modern Northern or Central Italians.

This finding shocked the popular understanding of Roman demography but had been suggested for years by historical and archaeological evidence. The Roman slave trade, the integration of provinces, the cosmopolitan nature of the Imperial capital, and the documented eastern Mediterranean trading communities all pointed toward exactly this kind of demographic mixing. The genetic data confirmed and quantified the pattern. The Pompeii Casa del Fabbro genome fits into this picture as one individual sample of a population that, even outside Rome itself, had absorbed substantial eastern Mediterranean input.

5. The Bay of Naples as a Mediterranean crossroads

The Bay of Naples was, in the 1st century CE, one of the most cosmopolitan zones of the entire Roman world. Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli) was the main port of arrival for eastern Mediterranean shipping into Italy, including most of the grain shipments from Egypt that fed Rome. The region had a substantial population of Greek, Syrian, Egyptian, and broader eastern Mediterranean residents, many of whom were merchants, sailors, freedmen of eastern origin, or descendants of such individuals. Pompeii itself, while smaller than Puteoli or Neapolis, was a wealthy and well-connected commercial town whose population reflected the broader Bay of Naples diversity.

The epigraphic evidence from Pompeii includes Greek inscriptions, Latin inscriptions from individuals with Greek and eastern Mediterranean names, and tomb inscriptions from individuals identified with eastern Mediterranean origins. The famous garum (fermented fish sauce) trade of Pompeii had connections across the Mediterranean. The wine trade brought in foreign visitors and resident merchants. The result was a town whose population, while predominantly Italian in cultural identity and language, was genuinely mixed in its origins. The Casa del Fabbro male is one individual sample of this mixture, with his Italian-Sardinian base reflecting the Italic substrate and his eastern Mediterranean component reflecting the integrated eastern Mediterranean migrant population.

6. The tuberculosis finding: a medical biography

Beyond the genetic ancestry findings, the Scorrano et al. study identified molecular evidence of tuberculosis in the Pompeii male's skeletal remains. The morphological pattern of vertebral lesions was consistent with Pott's disease (tuberculosis of the spine), and DNA recovery confirmed traces of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The tuberculosis was advanced enough to have caused significant chronic morbidity in the individual during the years before his death.

This finding adds a medical dimension to the individual's life story. He lived with progressive vertebral tuberculosis, which would have caused chronic pain, mobility limitations, and visible deformity over time. Despite this, he survived to between 35 and 50 years of age (a substantial lifespan by Imperial Roman standards) before dying in the volcanic eruption. The combination of a Mediterranean-mixed genetic ancestry, vertebral tuberculosis, and death in the Vesuvius eruption provides one of the most thoroughly characterized individual biographies recoverable from any ancient population.

7. The genetic history of southern Italy through Pompeii in six phases

8. The myths and the genetic reality

9. The road ahead for Pompeii genetics

The Casa del Fabbro genome is the first whole-genome sequence from Pompeii but should not be the last. The volcanic preservation conditions are challenging for DNA, but the success of the Scorrano team demonstrates that some individuals do preserve sufficient DNA for analysis. Future work on additional Pompeii victims could characterize the genetic diversity of the town more comprehensively, addressing questions about social stratification (did the resident slave population differ in ancestry from the free population), family structure (could we identify biological relatives among the victims), origin geography (could specific individuals be traced to specific source regions in the eastern Mediterranean), and disease (would systematic DNA screening reveal the prevalence of tuberculosis, malaria, and other pathogens in the population).

The single individual sampled so far has already opened the field. The Pompeii Casa del Fabbro male joins the Antonio et al. 2019 Imperial Roman individuals as direct genetic evidence that the Imperial Roman population of southern Italy was a thoroughly Mediterranean integrated population, with the eastern Mediterranean component as a major and well-documented contribution. The image of Pompeii that emerges is not less Roman for being more Mediterranean; it is, in fact, Roman in the full Imperial sense, a city of the Empire that participated in the demographic and cultural integration of the broader Mediterranean basin during the 1st century CE.

10. References

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2. Antonio, M. L., Gao, Z., Moots, H. M., Lucci, M., Candilio, F., Sawyer, S., et al. (2019). Ancient Rome: A genetic crossroads of Europe and the Mediterranean. Science, 366(6466), 708-714. DOI: 10.1126/science.aay6826 Imperial Rome Eastern Mediterranean
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