When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, the residents of Pompeii died nearly instantly as they were overwhelmed by superheated gas and ash, their last moments preserved through time by the layer of ash. But not all the deaths were quick, suggest newly discovered human remains.
The skeletons of a man and a woman were found by archaeologists in the Region IX, Insula 10 region of Pompeii, during a 2023 excavation project. The pair were in a room, with the woman found on a bed, clutching gold, silver, and bronze coins, as well as jewelry that included a pair of gold and pearl earrings. The male, who was estimated to be between 15 and 20 years old, was found lying face down in a corner. His bones showed no signs of fracture, except for a break in his right humerus, which likely happened after death.
Unlike many Pompeii victims, the bodies didn’t show signs that the cause of death was asphyxiation.
The two skeletons are described in a new study in the the E-Journal degli Scavi di Pompei. The researchers from several Italian universities said the two victims were evidently seeking shelter in the room and could have been in there for hours. A closed window may have kept pumice from filling the room, even as it filled other areas of the house, leaving the pair trapped until they were finally killed by pyroclastic flows—fast-moving surges of deadly gas and volcanic matter.
The discovery is a reminder that those present during the eruption experienced something “even more monstrous and inconceivable than we can imagine today, since they didn’t know exactly what volcanoes were,” the researchers wrote in the paper.
The makeshift burial chamber contained a number of other objects, including a marble-topped table, bronze candelabra, and bronze, glass, and ceramic furnishing.
“The opportunity to analyze the invaluable anthropological data relating to the two victims found within the archaeological context that marked their tragic end, allows us to recover a significant amount of data on the daily life of the ancient Pompeians and on the micro stories of some of them, with precise and timely documentation,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii archaeological Park, in a statement.
Though the calamity occurred nearly 2,000 years ago, archaeologists are still making new discoveries in Pompeii, including unearthing the bodies of victims. Those remains paint a horrific picture of what took place that day, as rocks and ash rained from the sky. If there’s any comfort to be had, it’s that the suffering likely didn’t last long, with some scientists estimating most of the victims choked to death on toxic gases within 15 minutes of the eruption. Other research suggests victims were baked or had their skull explode. The falling ash and debris buried the city, leaving it in a remarkably preserved state.
Not everyone living in Pompeii at the time of the eruption necessarily died. Some evidence indicates that there were survivors who were able to start new lives elsewhere and even prosper.
