Pompeii: The Secret DNA

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History

Summary

Documentary offering a new portrayal of an ancient city often seen as a symbol of Roman sophistication, revealing a deeply divided society marked by extreme inequality, violence and unrest. Combining historical evidence with the latest discoveries, experts retrace the rise and fall of Pompeii, from its introduction as a Roman colony in the 1st century BC to its destruction by Vesuvius in 79AD

Review

Paul Whitelaw

This bleak documentary traces the rise and tragic fall of Pompeii, a city once regarded as the apex of Roman sophistication but which, in reality, was riddled with extreme social inequality, violence and unrest.

We know this thanks to some fascinating recent discoveries, chief among them being an unearthed tomb that sheds light on the opulent lifestyles of Pompeii’s elite; a servant’s quarters that, by stark contrast, lays bare the brutal living conditions of Pompei’s enslaved population; and some new DNA analysis that reveals the extraordinary story of a slave who gained freedom and rose to power. Then, as we know, Vesuvius erupted.

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