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"Una madre col suo bambino?" asked Ciro Formuola, the foreman of the work crew.
Dr. Sara C. Bisel peered intently at the two skeletons lying at her feet. In the arms of a young woman, an infant was
protectively cradled.
"No, I don't think they're a mother and baby," she answered. "This girl has never given birth."
Dr. Bisel glanced around interior of the ancient stone boat chamber, where no sunlight had penetrated for almost twenty
centuries.
"Allora, e la sorella?" ("Baby and older sister?")
"We'll see," Dr. Bisel answered.
It was the summer of 1982.
Dr. Bisel, a forensic anthropologist world-renowned as "The Bone Lady," had been asked by the National Geographic
Society to assist documenting an historic find of extensive human remains at Herculaneum, one of the towns buried by the eruption
of Mt. Vesuvius on August 24-25, 79 Common Era.
The significance of these breathtaking archeological discoveries cannot be overstated. Throughout the thousand year
history of their empire, the Romans customarily cremated their dead, rarely leaving behind complete skeletons.
What scientists found at Herculaneum has become our clearest glimpse ever into the life of this fascinating civilization,
and it comes not from an era, or a century, or even a decade, but from a single terrifying day, experienced by human beings
two thousand years ago.
A broad cross section of first century Romans came to light during the 1982-1988 excavations. Along with the girl and
the baby, there was an obviously wealthy woman, a Roman soldier, the town drunk, a fisherman, and a pregnant woman, the bones
of her unborn as fragile as eggshells.
Because of the advances made by Dr. Bisel and other scientists at the ruins of Herculaneum, today we know far more
about Roman society in the first century than we did before the people on the beach were uncovered.
From her work on 139 skeletons, Dr. Bisel determined that the luxury and opulence of Roman life came at a high price
to those who were their slaves.
In the case of two skeletons in the boathouse, where the girl was found holding the baby, the contrasting styles of
Roman life could not have been more poignant.
The girl was undoubtedly a slave, as her skeleton showed evidence that she had been cruelly overworked. The infant
she was protecting was a member of the upper class, as he wore a costly cupid pin and two tiny gold bells.
My novel THE FOREVER GIRL tells the story of how these two skeletons came to be together at Herculaneum, and traces
the lives of many other individuals who perished with them in the blast. Dr. Bisel has brought them wonderfully to life as
scientific specimens. Through fiction, I am bringing them to life as human beings.
Based on the best evidence we currently have on how the Romans lived, worked, and died in an environment that is both
similar to and alien from our own, THE FOREVER GIRL is as historically accurate as I could possibly make it.
In thirty three chapters averaging about 5400 words each, THE FOREVER GIRL encompasses the whole sweep of Roman life,
from barbarian villages along the North Sea to the fabulous estates of wealthy and influential political elites on the sunny
Bay of Naples.
The characters range from Nero's successor Vespasian, to the slave Kara and the infant Justus, found together in the
boat chamber by Dr. Bisel.
Mike Bonner
REVIEW
This was a great book. It tells the story(s) of Roman society
at the time of the Mt. Vesuvius eruption that destroyed Pompeii. Based on some of the remains that have been recovered - you
get the picture of life from three different perspectives: as a Roman slave, as a centurion and Roman citizen, and as
a member of the Senator class.
Some of sex content is a little shocking, but it isn't overly
graphic....just very matter of fact about how things were in that culture. To my surprise - as the story developed it could
almost have been "Christian Literature" as it covered the "Christ Cult" that was gaining foothold also. A really good read
if you like historical fiction.
--Pam Hunt - June 8, 2011
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