I may not do much about my study field of Archaeology, but I am always attracted to new develpments and finds. Today I am sharing with you the reconstruction of the figure of a young girl living in Athens, c.430-426 B.C. Her sceletal remains were found in 1995. There followed a series of studies starting with medical doctors and concluding with a famous sculptor and a famous fashion designer, Sophia Kokosalaki.
"Myrtis", as she was named by the archaeologists who found her body including her (rather problematic) teeth in perfect condition, was a 11 years old free citizen girl or perhaps a young home aid, when she died during the plague that killed some 50,000 Athenians including the Athenian statesman Pericles himself. Research conducted on the teeth of the victims found in a collective tomb together with "Myrtis'" showed conclusively for the first time that the typhoid was caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Τyphi.
Isn't it amazing how the girl looks so contemporary?
The scientific presentation will take place tonight at the Acropolis Museum and the exhibition "Face to Face with the Past" will be open to the public till June 15th at the Goulandris Natural History Museum in Kifissia.
