The woolen clothes worn by the victims of the Roman city of Pompeii, when the city was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius more than two thousand years ago, suggest that the disaster could have occurred in a cold climate, according to a study by the University of Valencia presented this Saturday in Italy.
Since Friday, scientists and historians have gathered at Boscoreale, near the ruins of Pompeii (south), to participate in an international conference and debate the exact date of the eruption, which points to sometime between August and November 79 AD.
One of the main novelties presented during the meeting were the results of the analysis of the tracings of the victims found in the Porta Nola Necropolis in 1975.
These tracings show that the inhabitants of Pompeii were wearing woolen clothing at the time of the eruption, explained Llorenç Alapont, professor at the University of Valencia (UV) and head of the study.
“In principle, wool was a type of winter fabric or for the cold, although it may also be that they were intended to protect themselves from the environment, gases, ash or hot air that were occurring at that time,” Alapont explained to EFE.
Although the topic is still the subject of debate, the most accepted hypothesis is that the catastrophe occurred on August 24, 79 AD, based on the writings of Pliny the Younger.
However, gaps in some ancient texts, the presence of autumn fruits among buried houses and streets, and the discovery of graffiti on numerous walls (a common practice in Pompeii) have fueled the enigma about the exact date of the eruption for centuries.
Despite this uncertainty, Alapont predicts that the debate in Italy will conclude with the establishment of August 24 as the official date, “unless evidence emerges that refutes it,” he indicated.
In this context, the results of the analyzes carried out by his research group on the culture of death ‘ÁTROPOS’ at the UV suggest that the environmental conditions in August 79 AD would indicate that the environmental conditions in that month could not have been those traditionally expected for August, suggesting lower temperatures, he stated.
Regarding their work methodology, Alapont explained that, to determine the material of the dresses, the researchers analyzed the imprints left by the fabrics on the victims’ tracings.
“The key to the analysis was examining the way the threads were intertwined, since this gives us information about the type of fabric,” he explained.
In addition, the marks on the clothing of the victims found inside and outside the houses were compared, observing that the people found outside their homes wore heavier clothing than those who were inside.
EFE
Photo: EFE
