The latest discoveries in Pompeii
Today I’m coming to you with BREAKING FRESH NEWS from the world of archeology! š
It would seem that Pompeii, an ancient city completely destroyed as a result of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, no longer hides any secrets. And yet it hides! The Italian news agency ANSA shared with the world the information about the discovery of well-preserved fossilized remains of two more victims of the eruption…
A truly exceptional discovery ~ Massimo Osanna, director of the archaeological park of Pompeii
This is amazing! ~ Dario Franceschini, Italian Minister of Culture
An extraordinary discovery in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii ~ The Guardian
Now you are probably wondering why this discovery is so important and why it arouses so much enthusiasm? Let me explain:
First of all, the excavated bodies are so well-preserved that it was possible to establish who the men exactly were. According to archaeologists, the bodies belong to a wealthy, middle-aged inhabitant of the ancient city and to his young slave. Where does this thesis come from? Among other things, the assumption was made based on the folds on the ash layer which had been left by the material. Thanks to them we know that the older man at the time of his death wore a warm coat – an item of clothing that not everyone could afford. On the other hand, the younger victim was dressed in a flimsy tunic and, moreover, his cervical vertebrae were so deformed that researchers suspect that he had to work hard physically for most of his life – hence the thesis that he was a slave.
What also makes this discovery unique is the fact that for the first time in 150 years the archaeologists managed to unearth such perfectly preserved remains of the victims along with the things they had with them at the point of death, i.e. when they were carried away by a wave of heat and lava after the eruption of Vesuvius.
What’s more, the bodies of the two men illustrate in a very clear and at the same time brutal way their moment of death. According to scientists, a wealthy man and his slave avoided the first stage of the eruption of Vesuvius (the eruption lasted several days) and decided to hide themselves in the villa’s basement.
It must have happened in the early morning of the second day of the eruption, therefore around 9am on the 25th of October of that terrible 79 AD. Their death must have coincided with the arrival of the second pyroclastic current, i.e. with a wind of death that left no escape for anyone - explains Osanna.
They died of thermal shock, as evidenced by their clenched hands and feet.
Other scientists also point out that the heavily twisted hands of the victims probably resulted from the pain and the torment that gripped the men with the flow of lava.
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As you can
see, even what seemed to be already discovered still hides many secrets! All
the more I’m glad that I could share such fresh news with you. Just like last time,
I am proposing you some articles thanks to which you can read more about the
latest discovery in Pompeii:
- Scoperta a Pompei, ritrovati due corpi intatti (in Italian)
- Pompeii dig reveals ‘almost perfect’ remains of a master and his slave
- Bodies of rich man and slave discovered within Pompeii ruins
- Bodies of man and slave unearthed from ashes at Pompeii
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