A new study has shattered historians' long-held assumptions about some of the people who died in Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 C.E.

A new study— published in Current Biology by a team of researchers at Harvard University and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii in Naples, Italy—asserts that ancient DNA taken from some of the victims challenges stories long told about those particular Pompeii citizens.

A recent DNA study has upended long-held theories about the people who died in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, revealing unexpected details about the demographics and connections among the victims.