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Tech Tuesday: DNA reveals misconceptions about life before Mount Vesuvius' eruption

Workers stand among debris in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010. Officials say that a house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii once used by gladiators to train before combat has collapsed. The site was closed at the time and nobody was injured. The office of Pompeii's archaeological superintendent said the collapse occurred Saturday at around 6 a.m. (0500 GMT). Attendants opening the site saw the collapse about an hour later. The 430-square-foot (40-square-meter) space was used by gladiators to train before going to fight in a nearby amphitheater. Pompeii was destroyed in A.D. 79 by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius that killed thousands of people and buried the city in 20 feet (six meters) of volcanic ash.
Salvatore Laporta
/
AP
Workers stand among debris in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010. Officials say that a house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii once used by gladiators to train before combat has collapsed. The site was closed at the time and nobody was injured. The office of Pompeii's archaeological superintendent said the collapse occurred Saturday at around 6 a.m. (0500 GMT). Attendants opening the site saw the collapse about an hour later. The 430-square-foot (40-square-meter) space was used by gladiators to train before going to fight in a nearby amphitheater. Pompeii was destroyed in A.D. 79 by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius that killed thousands of people and buried the city in 20 feet (six meters) of volcanic ash.

Over time, archeologists combing through the ruins of Pompeii came to certain conclusions about those entombed in the ash guessing at likely relationships and family ties.

Last week, with the use of DNA, researchers revealed that long-held assumptions missed the mark, providing tantalizing details of life before Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.

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