Resurrecting Pompeii (27 page)

The two methods of scoring for tooth attrition produced slightly different results. The Brothwell scheme (described in this work as Att A) placed 24 cases, or 82.8 per cent, of the sample in the ‘young adult’ range, with ages consistent with the third decade of life. Only two cases (6.9 per cent) were scored as ‘adult’ and 3 (10.3 per cent) as ‘mature adult’.

More cases were included in the data set based on the Lovejoy scheme (described in this work as Att B) as anterior teeth could be scored for a minimum age estimation. It is worth noting that, even though more individuals could be scored for Att B, the sample size was only 33. Because the age range covered by this technique is wider, it was possible to identify four individuals (12.1 per cent) in the adolescent range. This method produced fewer ‘young adult’ scores. Four cases that been included in this category in Att A were identified as one ‘adult’ and three ‘mature adults’ by the Lovejoy system. Mandibular teeth compared with maxillary teeth

The evidence provided by the teeth of all the available mandibles and maxillae from the Forum and Sarno Bath collections confirmed the results of the pelvic and skull samples. There was no significant difference between the mandibles and maxillae for tooth eruption (Table 7.5). It is notable that neither series had any cases that could be classified as foetal or infants. Just under 24 per cent of maxillae and 22.2 per cent of mandibles were classified as being of indeterminate age. This was because they were either too incomplete to assess or required x-rays to determine whether the third molars had yet to erupt or had been lost ante mortem.

The majority of cases for both types of attrition assessment were identi fied as consistent with individuals in their third decade of life. As expected, the frequency of cases scored in this category was higher for Att A, as Att B covers a wider age range which enables the older cases to be distinguished (see Tables 7.6 and 7.7). It is evident from the tables that there was greater
in situ
preservation of mandibular than maxillary teeth. It is possible that differences in the way that crania and mandibles were stored could account for the higher post mortem retention of mandibular teeth (also see Chapter 8). It is important to note that many of the mandibles and maxillae did not have sufficient ante and post mortem dental survival to enable assessment, which is why the

Pathological changes that are generally associated with advancing years have been observed on a number of the bones of the Pompeian sample (see Chapter 8). Because of the problems of diagnosis of disarticulated material, only two disorders were identified with certainty. These were diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), which is more commonly found in older males and presents as fusion, especially of the right side of the thoracic vertebrae, and hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI), a syndrome associated with an endocrine disorder that is highly correlated with post-menopausal women.

Contrary to expectations based on the assumption that the elderly were more likely to have become victims of Mt Vesuvius, the results of the age assessment of the Pompeian skeletal remains suggest that the proportion of older individuals in the sample was relatively low. In view of the acknowledged tendency for macroscopic ageing techniques based on morphological examination to underestimate adult age-at-death, especially in the older range, it was considered that the presence of age-related pathology might prove a more useful indicator.

As a result of serendipity, one age-related disorder was discovered with a frequency that enabled comments to be made about age and longevity in the Pompeian sample. This pathology presents unequivocally on the inner table of the frontal bone and is known as hyperostosis frontalis interna. It is a syndrome of unknown aetiology related to an endocrine disturbance and is reported to occur almost exclusively in older, usually post menopausal, females. It has an incidence of, at least, 11.1 per cent in the Pompeian sample, which is equivalent to the upper end of the range of the frequency for this disorder in a modern Western population. Only a limited number of cases, both temporally and geographically separated from Pompeii, have been reported in the archaeological literature (Chapter 8). It has been suggested that the reason this disorder has not been found frequently in archaeological contexts is because the average lifespan was much lower in antiquity.
²⁹
The incidence of HFI in the Pompeian sample does not support this assertion. Since the frequency in this sample is comparable to the expected incidence in a modern population, it could be argued that the Pompeian skeletal collections reflect a normally distributed sample with a comparable lifespan to that of a modern community. If this were the case then further doubt could be cast on the presumption that the Pompeian sample was skewed towards the elderly as a result of their inability to escape the
_AD
79 eruption. The frequency of HFI in the Pompeian sample also suggests that a number of women were surviving to older ages. This is at variance with the assumption that women in ancient Roman society tended to have shorter life expectancies as a result of death during labour. It is perhaps worth noting that ancient authors suggested that women who survived childbirth tended to outlive males.
³⁰

The only other age-related disorder that could be diagnosed with relative certainty was diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). This is an abnormality that is most apparent in the thoracic vertebrae and is specifically associated with older, usually male, individuals (Chapter 8). Only two cases were observed in the Pompeian collections, which does not allow for much comment beyond the statement that, at least a few individuals were living long enough to exhibit these bony changes. It is possible that this pathology is underrepresented in the Pompeian collections because vertebrae, which generally have not been preserved, are required for its diagnosis. A higher incidence of DISH has been observed in other ancient populations.

Similarly, Molleson reported a high proportion of cases of Paget ’s disease from the medieval Cathedral Green excavations at Winchester. This pathology is also highly correlated with old age and is recognizable by gross thickening of the long bones and skulls of affected individuals. Molleson documented these cases even though she generally subscribed to the view that ancient lifespans, especially those of the Romano-British populations she studied, were much shorter than those of modern populations. She used this example to promulgate the possibility that ancient skeletal material may have been underaged.
³²

This is a moot point. The demonstrated tendency for a number of ageing techniques to underage skeletal material can be used to confirm preconceived ideas about ancient populations. For example, palaeodemographic studies based on Roman skeletal material of the later Empire have presented the average age-at-death at about 24 to 25 years, with few individuals surviving into the fourth decade. Various reasons have been invoked to explain this phenomenon, such as poor sanitation and inadequate medical attention for the urban poor.
³³

So strong is the presumption of premature death in antiquity that the discovery of pathology associated with old age is often explained away by the suggestion that such diseases occurred at earlier ages in ancient populations. Anderson,
³⁴
for example, considered that the occurrence of a case of HFI in an Anglo-Saxon skeleton was possibly a reflection of the earlier onset of menopause. Because of the vagaries of the available ageing techniques, especially in the identification of older individuals, it can be difficult to corroborate old age from skeletal remains. This makes it impossible to refute the argument of earlier onset of certain disorders, which means that interpretation can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There is no basis for the assumption that there have been signi ficant changes in mortality over time and space. Similarly there is no compelling evidence to suggest that various stages in the life histories of earlier populations, like the onset of menopause, occurred at earlier ages than in current populations.
³⁵

Parkin has made a detailed study of the concept of old age in the Roman world.
³⁶
He noted that there is no consensus amongst ancient authors about the time of onset of old age. It was not uncommon for writers in the classical world to use blanket terms for different age classes that were not bound to numerical age, such as infant, adolescent and old. Some ancient writers do, however, provide information about when old age was said to commence. For example, in the different Hippocratic texts, the seventh stage of life or old age is said to commence at the ages of 42, 56 and 63 years of age. Censorinus, writing in the third century
_AD
, suggested five stages, each being 15 years long, based on Varro’s description of the first century
_BC
. Other examples provided for the onset of old age include Galen, who gave an age of 49 and Isodorus who indicated an age of 70.
³⁷

Suetonius usually included the age of death of Roman Emperors in his lives of the Caesars. Augustus died just before his 76th birthday,
³⁸
Claudius expired in his 64th year
³⁹
and Vespasian died at the age of 69.
⁴⁰
Tiberius was about 77 years of age when his life ended. It is notable that despite his venerable age, there was some suggestion that he did not die of natural causes but was perhaps slowly poisoned.
⁴¹
This suggests that such an age was not considered so remarkable, at least amongst those of the higher social strata. Similarly, Galba was murdered at the age of 73.
⁴²
One could perhaps argue that the upper classes would be expected to have longer lifespans as a result of better diet, standard of hygiene and access to medical assistance.

Information about the rest of the population is incomplete. Almost none of the census information for Roman Italy has survived and ancient medical sources are filled with generalizations. Evidence from tombstones has been employed to determine longevity, though it has been argued that the interpretation of such evidence has often been simplistic.
⁴³

It would appear reasonable to assume that the census data that survive could provide information about the age range of ancient Romans. To highlight the problems associated with census information, Parkin cites the case of the
_AD
73–74 census instigated by Vespasian and Titus. Both Pliny the Elder, who wrote his account a few years after this event and Phlegon, who wrote in the time of Hadrian, record results of this census in relation to the number of centenarians in the region between the Po and the Apennines. It is clear that Phlegon is not merely repeating Pliny’s report as his is much more detailed. Pliny reported ninety individuals who were one hundred years of age or older while Phlegon only mentions seventy. Some individuals are recorded as being up to 150 years of age. Apart from the inconsistency in the numbers presented by the two writers and the unlikely number of centenarians in that region, some of the ages that are reported just do not seem biologically possible. Parkin argues that rather than being an accurate reflection of actual age, these figures represent the high status associated with achieving a phenomenal age and that this example should serve as a warning against blind acceptance of other Roman census figures.
⁴⁴

The evidence from tombstones also shows a tendency to exaggerate lifespan. There are vast numbers of tomb inscriptions, which include large numbers of adolescents and elderly individuals with relatively few cases of people in the fourth and fifth decades. Dyson
⁴⁵
presented an argument to explain this phenomenon. It is based on the likelihood that tombstone inscriptions explain more about Roman attitudes to premature death and what was considered a proper lifespan than the actual age composition of Roman communities. The inclusion of information about the length of life of individuals who survived into old age has been presented as a reflection of a fascination with the defiance of mortality in a society where extreme old age was perhaps desired but not common. This reasoning has been supported by the apparent interest of ancient writers, such as Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, in examples of longevity in individuals or communities.
⁴⁶
Further, it appears that some of these tombstone inscriptions record an unlikely frequency of extremely elderly individuals, such as the large number of centenarians on Roman African tombstones. This is probably more related to geographical variation in the method of commemoration of the dead than differential longevity in various regions of the ancient world.
⁴⁷

These cases suggest that, at least on occasion, ages were exaggerated. Parkin
⁴⁸
noted that there were no bureaucratic implications associated with the degree of accuracy of ages ascribed to individuals on tombstones. As a result there was no reason to prevent the use of guesstimates when age was not known or for desired, rather than real age, to be recorded.

It has also been noted that the figures on tombstones have been rounded up or down to make them multiples of five. One possible explanation for this is that multiples of five are shorter in Roman numerals and therefore more economical to use if one has to pay for an inscription to be engraved. Other possible explanations for this phenomenon are illiteracy and ignorance of the exact age of the deceased. Parkin suggested that knowledge of the precise age of an individual was not important to the daily life of most ancient Romans.
⁴⁹
Examination of the various forms of evidence available led Parkin to conclude that there were no methods to reliably calculate or verify age in Roman Italy. Even though there were well-defined rules of age, for example, males came of legal age at the age of 25, these apparently relied on the statement of age provided by an individual rather than objective evidence.
⁵⁰

No compensation can be made for the bias generated by creative documentation and attempts to determine average lifespan from this class of evidence are of questionable value. Other forms of literary evidence, such as mummy labels, legal texts and tax receipts, have similar shortcomings and it has been suggested that, like the skeletal evidence, ancient written sources alone are not very reliable for the reconstruction of age-at-death information for the ancient Roman world.
⁵¹
Nonetheless, the evidence that does exist does not indicate that the potential lifespan of the ancient Romans was significantly different from that of a modern population.