{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1749737,
        "msgid": "using-ct-scans-scientists-reveal-pompeii-eruption-victim-was-a-doctor-1779546119",
        "date": "2026-05-19 19:17:00",
        "title": "Using CT Scans, Scientists Reveal Pompeii Eruption Victim Was a Doctor",
        "author": "Gloria Setyvani Putri",
        "source": "KOMPAS",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Anthropology",
        "summary": "A recent analysis using modern imaging techniques has identified one Pompeii victim from the 79 CE Vesuvius eruption as a doctor, based on a small organic container attached to his plaster cast. The discovery adds detail to our understanding of Roman medical practitioners and the risks they faced during disasters, with CT and X-ray scans revealing the contents of the box without damaging it.",
        "content": "<p>The ancient city of Pompeii seems never to run out of tragically\ncaptivating stories from the past. A recent analysis using modern\nscanning technology has succeeded in revealing the identity of one of\nthe victims of the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. The\nman entombed by the advancing ash is believed to have carried a box of\nancient medical equipment as he breathed his last. The discovery\nstrongly suggests that he was a doctor \u2014 or medicus in Latin.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than finding a safe shelter, the group was overwhelmed as a\npyroclastic surge of toxic gases (likely carbon dioxide and sulfur\ndioxide) and hot ash shot from the summit of Vesuvius. The Pompeii site\nitself was first unearthed in the 16th century, but plaster casts of the\nvictims\u2019 body cavities in the site\u2019s gardens were only made by\narchaeologists in 1961. For more than 60 years, a small organic\ncontainer (believed to be leather) attached to the doctor\u2019s plaster cast\nhas remained a tightly guarded mystery.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to advances in medical technology, researchers at the Pompeii\nArchaeological Park were able to glimpse the contents of the box without\ndamaging it, using X-ray scanning and CT scans. The scan results show\nthat the box, fitted with a gear-wheel locking mechanism, contained\nsubstances used to treat patients \u2014 honey, wine, vinegar, and herbal\nplant extracts. In addition to the medical box, the doctor was found to\nbe carrying a small cloth bag containing bronze and silver coins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe man carried the tools with him so that he could rebuild his life\nelsewhere thanks to his profession, but he may also have intended to\nhelp others in the midst of the disaster,\u201d said Gabriel Zuchtriegel,\nDirector of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, in an official statement on\nTuesday (19 May 2026).<\/p>\n<p>It is not yet known whether the doctor was trapped while trying to\nflee to safety, or if he stayed in the vineyards to tend to those\ninjured by Vesuvius\u2019s fury.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/using-ct-scans-scientists-reveal-pompeii-eruption-victim-was-a-doctor-1779546119",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}