CT Scans Reveal Pompeii Victim Was a Doctor

High-tech CT scans have revealed that one of the victims immortalized in plaster at Pompeii's Garden of the Fugitives was a Roman doctor. The cast, discovered in the 1960s among 14 bodies frozen by the 79 C.E. eruption, was found during 2016 restoration to contain hidden objects. Non-invasive imaging uncovered a bronze-rimmed medical case with a sophisticated lock, containing a basalt slab for grinding powders, six metallic surgical instruments, and a cloth bag with four silver and three bronze coins, including a Flavian-era sestertius (69–96 C.E.). The discovery adds new knowledge to the tragedy, according to park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel, who published the findings in the Pompeii Excavations e-journal. Researchers plan to virtually recreate the medical kit. Zuchtriegel, director since 2021, has used the e-journal to rapidly publish finds including frescoes linked to Nero's wife and details of elite towers.