Overview
- Pompeii Archaeological Park, which published CT and X-ray results Monday, reported a small case inside the cast of Victim 46 that held a grinding slab, several metal instruments, and a pouch of bronze and silver coins.
- Researchers say the toolkit points to the victim being a medicus, or physician, while noting the identification is strongly suggestive rather than conclusive.
- Teams examined the sealed cast non-invasively and now plan a 3D virtual rebuild of the case and tools using the scan data to study the kit in detail.
- Scanning of many casts also exposed past alterations that shape current readings, including added metal rods for support, reshaped features, and bones sometimes removed before casting.
- The find comes from the Garden of the Fugitives group discovered in 1961, created using Fiorelli’s plaster method, and it adds personal context to one of about 104 known casts as a man fled with his tools and money.