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Scanning history in Pompeii

Scanning history in Pompeii
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By REUTERS
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What was life like in Pompeii nearly 2,000 years ago? Using CAT scan technology, experts are now able to uncover tantalising insights into how people

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What was life like in Pompeii nearly 2,000 years ago?

Using CAT scan technology, experts are now able to uncover tantalising insights into how people lived before Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the town.

It seems many former residents had excellent dental hygiene, as superintendent Massimo Osanna explained:
“From the study, we discovered the absence of cavities in the teeth. This is very interesting. It is not completely surprising because we know about the Mediterranean diet and its positive aspects. But these aspects have really been highlighted by this recent analysis.”

Much of the town and its people were preserved.

Over 150 years ago Giuseppe Fiorelli decided to fill the cavity between the bones and the ash with plaster to make moulds of the victims.

Experts are now using a 16-layer scan to penetrate at least 86 of the casts. The results have been impressive.

The latest research shows many of the victims died from falling masonry, rather than suffocation as previously believed.

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