New exhibition shows plaster casts of Pompeii victims‘IMPRINTS OF PAIN’: The recreation technique preserves the position, expression of pain and clothing details of the victims, making them unique testimoniesAP, POMPEII, ItalyMore than 20 plaster casts of victims who died in the catastrophic volcano eruption in Pompeii, Italy, went on display for the first time on Thursday in a permanent exhibition. The casts, which academics call “imprints of pain,” dramatically capture the exact position each resident of the city died in 79 AD. The reproductions were created by pouring liquid plaster into the voids left by the decomposed bodies in the hardened ash. Photo: APInvented by Giuseppe Fiorelli in 1863, the recreation technique faithfully preserves the position, expression of pain and clothing details of the victims, making them unique testimonies. The city of Pompeii was covered by ash, then later solidified by pyroclastic flows.

Source: Taipei Times March 13, 2026 16:52 UTC