Overview
- In a small study of 14 plaster casts, at least four victims were found to have worn wool tunics and heavy cloaks based on textile impressions.
- The team reports that in some cases the weaves were thick enough to identify the fabric as heavy wool.
- People who died indoors and outdoors appear to have been dressed in the same types of garments, according to the researchers.
- University of Valencia archaeologist Llorenç Alapont presented the results at an international congress focused on the eruption’s date.
- Experts caution the clothing evidence cannot settle the timeline, citing wool’s ubiquity in Roman dress and the unresolved split between Pliny’s Aug. 24 date and later-season interpretations.