Death Comes to Oplontis: Recording and Analyzing Skeletons of Victims of Mt. Vesuvius (79 AD)

FAIN: FT-254416-17

Kristina Killgrove
University of West Florida (Pensacola, FL 32514-5750)

Analysis and digital preservation of 54 skeletons from the Roman town, Oplontis, destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., leading to the creation of digital models, datasets, a project website, and an interpretive article.

Numerous urban centers in the Bay of Naples were completely destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pompeii and Herculaneum are the most famous of these, primarily because of the extent of excavation and the creation of plaster casts of dozens of dead bodies. Other areas were equally affected but are less understood, even today, because of their location underneath modern development. The villa complex of Oplontis is one of these. The 54 skeletons from Oplontis have been partially excavated, but they have never been conserved or analyzed. This project therefore has two goals: 1) to digitally preserve this cultural heritage through 3D scanning and photogrammetry; and 2) to create and publish a comparative database of key information from the skeletons themselves. This proposed research connects the dots between archaeological context, historical records, and physical bodies and invites the public to interact with this little-known Vesuvian site.

Media Coverage

Archaeologists Reveal 3D Skulls Of Ancient Romans Killed By Eruption Of Vesuvius (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Kristina Killgrove
Publication: Forbes (online)
Date: 1/22/2018
URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2018/01/22/archaeologists-reveal-3d-skulls-of-ancient-romans-killed-by-eruption-of-vesuvius/#79c78af74644

Les victimes de l'éruption du Vésuve livrent de nouveaux secrets (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Valerie Dupont
Publication: Radio Television Suisse
Date: 9/8/2017
URL: https://www.rts.ch/info/sciences-tech/8903591-les-victimes-de-l-eruption-du-vesuve-livrent-de-nouveaux-secrets.html

New Vesuvius bodies discovered: victims include pregnant women and fetuses (Media Coverage)
Publication: Fox News
Date: 8/25/2017
URL: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2017/08/25/new-vesuvius-bodies-discovered-victims-include-pregnant-women-and-fetuses.html

Pregnant Women And Fetuses Among Vesuvius' Victims, Archaeologists Reveal (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Kristina Killgrove
Publication: Forbes (online)
Date: 8/24/2017
URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2017/08/24/pregnant-women-and-fetuses-among-vesuvius-victims-archaeologists-reveal/#580a7ff9cc33

Pompéi: une anthropologue veut faire parler l’ADN des momies retrouvées (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Valerie Dupont
Publication: Radio Television Belge
Date: 8/15/2017
URL: Radio Télévision Belge

Ancient Oplontis residents had bad teeth (Media Coverage)
Publication: ANSA
Date: 8/15/2017
URL: http://www.ansa.it/english/news/lifestyle/arts/2017/08/09/ancient-oplontis-residents-had-bad-teeth_b44d9bf4-1bc8-4df9-a448-691d62343289.html

Studi sugli scheletri di Oplontis, salute di ferro ma soffrivano la fame. Ritrovate anche due donne incinte. (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Vincenzo Esposito
Publication: Corriere del Mezzogiorno
Date: 8/8/2017
URL: http://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/napoli/cronaca/17_agosto_08/studi-scheletri-oplontis-salute-ferro-ma-soffrivano-fame-ritrovate-anche-due-donne-incinte-5bb1b1c6-7c33-11e7-886c-9a8d4e28d560.shtml

Scavi di Oplontis, un feto e due donne incinte tra le vittime dell’eruzione del Vesuvio (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Antonio Ferrara
Publication: La Repubblica
Date: 8/8/2017
URL: http://napoli.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/08/08/news/scavi_di_oplontis_molti_parenti_tra_le_vittime_dell_eruzione_del_vesuvio-172634971/?rss&ref=twhr&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

UWF researcher to study ancient skeletons near Pompeii (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Sandra Averhart
Publication: WUWF
Date: 6/26/2017
URL: http://wuwf.org/post/uwf-researcher-study-ancient-skeletons-near-pompeii

Associated Products

Faces of Oplontis (Web Resource)
Title: Faces of Oplontis
Author: Kristina Killgrove
Abstract: Faces of Oplontis is a website that highlights the 3D scanning and photogrammetry done in 2017 at the site of Oplontis, Torre Annunziata, Italy. Each 3D skull is annotated with relevant information about disease and taphonomy, and accessible through a web browser.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://www.facesofoplontis.com
Primary URL Description: Website with 3D models of skulls of people who died at Oplontis in 79 AD.

Death comes to Oplontis: Victims of Vesuvius reveal life in 79 AD (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Death comes to Oplontis: Victims of Vesuvius reveal life in 79 AD
Abstract: Numerous urban centers in the Bay of Naples were completely destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pompeii and Herculaneum are the most famous of these, but other areas were also affected and are less understood, even today, because of their location underneath modern development. The villa complex of Oplontis is one of these. Partial excavations in the 1980s found more than 50 skeletons together in one room, killed by the catastrophic volcanic eruption. None of the skeletons had been studied, however, until 2017, when a team of UWF and University of Michigan archaeologists finished the old excavation and began to analyze the human remains. Although only one field season has been completed, this project has already revealed information about Roman life and death in 79 AD. One of the project's long-term goals is to digitally preserve this cultural heritage through 3D scanning and photomodeling, and the launch of a website with publicly accessible models from Oplontis is scheduled to coincide with this talk; audience members will get an exclusive preview.
Author: Kristina Killgrove
Date: 1/9/18
Location: Pensacola, Florida

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