LONDON Children in ancient Roman times did hard physical labor, medical research on fossil remains of child skeletons excavated in the Italian town of Herculaneum has shown. The town was destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 BC, which also destroyed Pompeii. The findings were published in British medical journal The Lancet by Italian anthropologist Luigi Capasso of the National Archaeological Museum in Chieti. The researchers discovered serious damage to the child skeletons, especially in the head and shoulder region, indicating regular physical work.

The worst deformations were discovered in children aged eight and nine, but the researchers also found signs of collar bone and breast bone deformities in a five-year-old skeleton. Historians say this kind of bone damage is typical in the remains of people from ancient civilizations and were caused by hard physical work such as ploughing fields or rowing. (DPA)