- [Narrator] In a recently discovered tomb at a burial site close to Pompeii's main eastern gate, archeologists made a startling discovery, partially mummified remains.

- We never expect to find one embalmed body.

So of course we were shocked.

He's the best preserved individual in Pompeii.

- [Narrator] In Ancient Roman funerary customs, cremation was the norm.

So finding hair, skin, and bones is unusual.

- This is a key question, why he decide to be buried and not cremated like the rest people in Pompeii and in the Roman Empire.

- [Narrator] An inscription at the entrance of the tomb not only provides a wealth of intriguing details about the life of the deceased, but also his name, Marcus Venerius Secundio.

As an enslaved person in public service, Marcus Venerius, like many others in Roman society, was owned by the whole city rather than an individual.

He was granted freedom and became an Augustales, a high status priest.

But what was the background of this former enslaved individual who rose to power?

To find answers, the archeologist collect the remains and sent a specimen to a lab in Florence for analysis.

Here, the scientists hope to extract DNA from a premolar tooth to learn more about Marcus Venerius' ancestral origins.

The study reveals not only Marcus Venerius' genetic traits, but also his ethnicity.

The analysis places Marcus Venerius' origins in the Caucuses, a region wedged between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

This was a place right on the edge of the Roman Empire.

The results could explain why he chose to be buried and not cremated.

- His tomb is completely different than the other tombs in Pompeii, so probably he bring his custom, his culture to Pompeii as well.

- [Narrator] While Marcus Venerius' story is the exception rather than the rule, it hints at the complexity of Pompeiian society.

- In Pompeii, we see a number of examples of freed people who are showing off their wealth.

They're showing their status that they have achieved, that they have really made it.

- [Narrator] The enslaved lived in hope of freedom and this might have helped the wealthy maintain control.