Human Remains from Herculaneum: A Snapshot of Society with Information on Ancient Roman Eating Habits

Herculaneum. Article published in the magazine Science Advances led by Drs. Silvia Soncin and Professor Oliver Craig derived from the application of an innovative analysis on the human remains of Herculaneum.

The work, carried out at the University of York, UK, involves the collaboration of, among others, the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and the Museum of Civilizations of Rome. The study of the remains of the inhabitants of Herculaneum who lost their lives trying to escape the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD offers a unique opportunity to examine the ways of life of an ancient community that lived and died together, a 'snapshot' of a population of exceptional archaeological value.

Since the 340s, XNUMX individuals have been excavated from the arches overlooking the ancient beach of Herculaneum, where they took refuge in an attempt to escape death. This extraordinary gathering of victims of a natural disaster is of enormous public interest, and also offers the opportunity to significantly improve our knowledge of Roman society through the application of bioarchaeological approaches.

In this study, 17 of the individuals recovered from the fornices were analyzed by means of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of the amino acids that make up bone collagen in order to reconstruct their diet with great precision. Professor Craig reports “from historical sources it is understood that there was often a differentiated access to foodstuffs between men and women but quantitative data and direct evidence are rarely provided. The analysis of amino acids has allowed us to quantify these differences and to reflect on the causes”.

Also essential for the success of the analysis was a new sampling of botanical remains from Ercolano, cereals and legumes collected last September by Dr. Soncin from the warehouses of the Archaeological Park. The isotopic results obtained from the cereals, together with those of the collagen of animal and marine species from .

0, were in fact used for comparison with the values ​​determined for humans. This approach made it possible to highlight clear differences between men and women in the consumption of fish and animal products. In particular, it was seen that men in Ercolano obtained approximately twice as much protein from fish products as women.

Women, on the other hand, consumed proportionately more animal products than men. The precise dietary data, in terms of both protein and calories, obtained thanks to this innovative bioarchaeological approach were then compared with those of contemporary populations, and, proportionately, fish consumption in Herculaneum was found to be much higher than that of the inhabitants of the Mediterranean in the second half of the last century.

Silvia Soncin reports: “Men were more likely to be involved in fishing and other maritime activities, generally held more privileged positions in society, and were freed from slavery at a younger age than women. All these factors probably facilitated their access to more expensive food products, such as fresh fish.”

“The diet followed by the ancient inhabitants of Herculaneum – intervenes the Director of the Archaeological Park – not only tells us about eating habits but also puts us in front of a society organized according to canons very different from today's. A world where habitual access to certain foods did not depend on hunger or the possibility of purchasing them, but on cultural factors: gender, social status, geographical origin of the members of the local community.

Ercolano confirms itself as a unique laboratory for the advancement of knowledge not only by looking to the past but also and above all, I would say, to the future and to the thousand possibilities of innovation and improvement of the quality of life that can derive from the activation of the teachings of history, rather than from the simple collection of data. The Archaeological Park of Ercolano is committed to promoting international studies around the reconstruction under many aspects of a world whose life ceased in a few hours, but whose active memory still resonates in the mind and soul of those who want to listen to it.”