ScienceHerculaneum victims’ bones point to a diet rich in seafood and olive oil
Science reports that a 2021 analysis of 17 eruption victims’ bones revealed what Herculaneum residents ate and in what proportions.
TLDR
Science describes how the eruption that buried Herculaneum and devastated Pompeii nearly 2,000 years ago also preserved clues to the Roman diet. A 2021 analysis of 17 victims’ bones revealed substantial seafood and olive oil consumption. The findings, Science says, confirmed historians’ estimates that average Romans consumed 20 liters (more than 5 gallons) of olive oil each year.
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Herculaneum victims’ bones point to a diet rich in seafood and olive oil
Science reports that a 2021 analysis of 17 eruption victims’ bones revealed what Herculaneum residents ate and in what proportions.
TLDR
Science describes how the eruption that buried Herculaneum and devastated Pompeii nearly 2,000 years ago also preserved clues to the Roman diet. A 2021 analysis of 17 victims’ bones revealed substantial seafood and olive oil consumption. The findings, Science says, confirmed historians’ estimates that average Romans consumed 20 liters (more than 5 gallons) of olive oil each year.