Victims of Pompeii are suspected of same-sex love (4 photos + 1 video)

When Mount Vesuvius erupted 2,000 years ago, two doomed Pompeians clung to each other in their final moments. Locked in an eternal embrace, they became known as the "Two Virgins." But new DNA analysis of the victims suggests the pair should be renamed.





Researchers at the Max Planck Institute have discovered that at least one of the victims was a man.

David Reich, the author of the new study, said: "At least one genetic male was found in a couple thought to be sisters or mother and daughter. These results challenge traditional ideas about gender and family."

Experts believe they may have been same-sex lovers.



Earlier, Massimo Osanna, director of the Pompeii archaeological site, suggested: "Their relationship may have been amorous, and this hypothesis cannot be ruled out."

Pompeii is an ancient Roman city buried under ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The city was rediscovered in the 1700s when researchers found dozens of dead bodies. The bodies of the victims had rotted over the millennia, but their outlines remained intact. Scientists were able to restore them by filling the cavities with plaster. This also made it possible to preserve the DNA of the ancient inhabitants.





When the bodies were first discovered, researchers noticed their relative positions and locations. It was suggested that they might be related.

In their work, published in the journal Current Biology, the researchers write: "Computer tomography of the skeletal elements preserved in the casts allowed us to determine the age: person number 21 - 14-19 years old and person number 22 - over 20 years old. Molecular genetic analysis was successful only for person number 22 and showed that he was a man."