Pompeii Plaster Casts: What CT Scans and DNA Revealed
The figures commonly called the “Pompeii bodies” are mostly casts, not petrified corpses. During excavation, archaeologists found body-shaped cavities in compacted eruption material. From 1863, Giuseppe Fiorelli's team filled some cavities with plaster, preserving the shape left after soft tissue and clothing had decayed. Human bones can remain inside a cast.
The distinction matters. Each cast is both an archaeological object and a record of a person who died in the AD 79 eruption; it is not a sculpture invented by an excavator.
What a Pompeii cast actually preserves
The Pompeii Archaeological Park's account of the casts explains the process:
- Fine ash and other eruption deposits accumulated around a victim.
- The surrounding material hardened while organic material decomposed.
- A cavity remained, sometimes containing bones and personal objects.
- Excavators poured casting material into the void.
- Removing the surrounding earth revealed the body's external form, including posture and some clothing details.
The surface is therefore a cast of a space in the deposit. It is not preserved skin. Where skeletal material survived, the cast may also contain original human remains. That is why conservation and scientific examination must balance research with the dignity of the individual.
How Fiorelli's method changed the excavation
Fiorelli introduced the method in 1863 after excavators recognized cavities in the hardened material. Pouring plaster before removing the surrounding deposit allowed the team to record evidence that would otherwise collapse or disappear during excavation.
Later teams have used other materials in particular cases, including transparent resin, but the principle is the same: fill the void to preserve its shape. The park's official history says remains of more than 1,000 victims have been found across the Pompeii area and that a little over 100 casts have been produced. Those are different totals; not every set of remains became a cast.
What the casts can and cannot tell us
A cast can preserve a person's position, the outline of clothing and objects caught in the cavity. Bones, teeth and belongings inside may support further study. Modern analysis can test older assumptions about age, sex or relationships.
A pose alone does not prove a name, occupation or family relationship. Labels such as “mother,” “child” or “embracing couple” often came from early visual interpretations. Current research may narrow or overturn those stories. The honest approach is to separate what the excavation recorded from what later viewers imagined.
The Two Maidens evidence guide applies that distinction to one frequently mislabelled pair of victims.
The same caution applies to the cause of death. The site records several hazards from the eruption, and an individual posture is not enough on its own to reconstruct the person's final actions or medical cause of death.
What CT scans and DNA found inside the casts
Two research programmes have since looked inside the casts, and both narrowed what the figures can be said to show.
The 2015 Pompeii Cast Project. During the restoration of 86 casts, a team led by Estelle Lazer CT-scanned or X-rayed 26 of them. None contained a complete skeleton. Bones had frequently been removed before casting, and stabilising material was introduced during or after the pour. One widely repeated caption did not survive the scan: the figure long described as a pregnant woman showed bunched-up garments rather than an abdomen.
The 2024 ancient-DNA study. Writing in Current Biology, Pilli and colleagues sequenced genetic material from five individuals and found that several familiar captions do not match the evidence. The adult wearing a golden bracelet with a child on their lap — captioned "mother and child" almost everywhere — was genetically male and not related to that child. The four victims from the House of the Golden Bracelet show no relatedness to the third degree. In the House of the Cryptoporticus pair known as the "two sisters," at least one individual was genetically male. The individuals sampled derived much of their ancestry from recent eastern Mediterranean immigrants, consistent with contemporaneous Roman genomes.
Popular caption versus published evidence
| The familiar caption | What the published evidence shows |
|---|---|
| "A pregnant woman" | CT imaging showed bunched garments, not an abdomen. The identification is not supported. |
| "A mother cradling her child" | The adult with the golden bracelet was genetically male and unrelated to the child on their lap. |
| "Two sisters embracing" | At least one of the pair was genetically male, so they cannot be sisters. |
| "The casts contain whole bodies" | Of 26 casts imaged in 2015, none held a complete skeleton; bones were often removed before casting. |
| "A cast shows how someone died" | Posture reflects burial and casting conditions as much as final actions; it is not a cause of death. |
The pattern is consistent: the casts record real people, but many of the stories attached to them were nineteenth- and twentieth-century readings of a pose. When a museum label, a tour script or a social post asserts a relationship, treat it as an interpretation unless it cites the imaging or genetic evidence.
Research checked: 8 September 2026 against the sources listed below.
Where to see casts at Pompeii
Cast displays are not fixed forever. Conservation, exhibitions and access work can move an object or close a room. The park's current open-buildings list is the best source to check shortly before a visit.
The Large Palaestra has hosted the park's permanent exhibition devoted to victim casts and other organic finds. The Garden of the Fugitives is associated with a group of casts found together in the southeastern part of the ancient city. Access to a specific display should still be confirmed on the official site or at the entrance on the day.
Do not choose an entrance solely from an old list of cast locations. Start with the park map, ask staff which displays are open, and build a route that also respects your available time and mobility needs.
Visiting the casts respectfully
The casts can be visually powerful, but they represent people rather than attractions created for dramatic photographs.
- Follow barriers and instructions from park staff.
- Do not touch a cast or its protective structure.
- Give other visitors room for quiet observation.
- Avoid presenting an unverified nickname or relationship as fact.
- Explain the casting method accurately when visiting with children.
For a broader historical visit, connect the cast exhibition with the city's houses, streets and public buildings. That context restores the victims to a living Roman community instead of reducing Pompeii to the moment of disaster.
Planning a 2026 visit
Individual Pompeii tickets are named, dated and tied to a time slot under the park's visitor regulations. Staff may request matching identification. Since 2 March 2026, the park identifies VivaTicket as its official online seller and also operates official gate ticket offices, subject to availability.
Check the official opening-times and ticket page before travel. A park admission ticket provides access to the areas included in that product, but it cannot guarantee that every cast display or building will be open on a particular day.
Common questions
Are the Pompeii figures real bodies?
They are casts of cavities left in compacted eruption material after bodies decomposed. Some contain original bones or objects, but the visible outer surface is casting material rather than preserved flesh.
How many casts are there?
The Pompeii Archaeological Park says remains of more than 1,000 victims have been found, while 104 casts have been produced using Fiorelli's method. The numbers are not interchangeable: most victims were never cast.
Did every victim leave a cavity that could be cast?
No. Preservation conditions varied, and excavators did not make a cast for every set of human remains.
Where is the best place to see the casts?
The Large Palaestra has hosted a permanent cast exhibition, while the Garden of the Fugitives is a well-known find location. Check the official open-buildings list because display and access arrangements can change.
Can a cast prove that two victims were related?
No — and in several famous cases DNA has shown the opposite. Physical closeness or a familiar-looking pose is not proof of a biological or social relationship. The 2024 Current Biology study found no relatedness to the third degree among the four victims in the House of the Golden Bracelet, and identified as male an adult long described as the mother of the child on their lap.
Do the Pompeii casts contain complete skeletons?
No. When 26 casts were CT-scanned or X-rayed during the 2015 restoration programme, none contained a complete skeleton. Bones were frequently removed before the plaster was poured, and metal stabilising rods were sometimes added.
Official sources
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Ancient DNA challenges prevailing interpretations of the Pompeii plaster casts, Current Biology (2024)
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Inside the casts of the Pompeian victims: results from the first season of the Pompeii Cast Project in 2015, Papers of the British School at Rome
Use the official park notices for current display locations and temporary closures.