Unprecedented Details of Pompeii Mummies Revealed Through CT Scans

Entombed in the ash that was spewed out by Mount Vesuvius when it tragically erupted in 79AD, restorers are now painstakingly working on and scanning the preserved plaster casts of 86 of the Romans who were trapped in Pompeii. These romans have been entombed in the ash for over 1,900 years. In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius unleashed unexpectedly, burying the doomed land in layers of ash as it forcefully spewed out hundreds of feet of ash into the air for nearly 18 hours. The ash engulfed buildings and houses, and smothered the people of Pompeii to death.

Now, with the support of modern-day imaging technology the victims of the devastating tragedy are being brought back to life. The CT scans conducted by restorers has the propensity to show what lies under the plasters and casings of these people frozen in time, reveals the Daily Mail. Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) machines, also known as CT scanners, are being used to perform the scans since they produce detailed 3D models of the remains. The results of the CT scans revealed bone details, delicate facial features of the victims and even perfect teeth.

The settlement that was discovered by sheer accident in the 18th century, buried under 30ft (9 metres) of ash was found to be perfectly preserved. Plaster of Paris was poured inside to create human casts, and once the plaster hardened, the restoration work involved carefully breaking into these casts to reveal the entombed bodies in ash.

According to experts, the explanation behind these perfectly preserved bodies is that the people were buried in the ash, which in turn hardened to form a porous shell. Within this porous shell, the soft tissues of the bodies decayed, leaving behind the skeletons in the voids. The people's poses and positions that are intact reveal under what circumstances they perished. While some were trapped in buildings in a defending posture, others were found sheltered together with family members.

Experts at the Pompeii Archaeological Site have been readying the poignant remains for the exhibition called Pompeii and Europe.