Most of the ancient Roman city’s residents were buried under the ash and pyroclastic flows that spread during the first 18 hours of the eruption, or died instantly from the intense heat that swept through the city. But studies have shown With it came powerful earthquakes that destroyed buildings and buried people under the ruins.

Earthquakes

We show that seismicity during the eruption played a significant role in the destruction of Pompeii and may have influenced the choices of Pompeians facing inevitable death.
– scientists write in their work.

After a large-scale disaster and 2,000 years of collapse, many of the ancient city’s buildings are in a deplorable state: missing roofs, collapsed walls, collapsed columns.

One of these is the House of Artists. It has been excavated since 2023 and at some point it was noticed that The collapse of the walls doesn’t quite match what archaeologists expected to find It is based on previous reconstructions of how the explosion occurred.

“We discovered special features that are not consistent with the consequences of volcanic events,” says volcanologist Mauro Di Vito from INGV-Osservatorio Vesuviano.

So scientists looked for another explanation. They found the skeletons: two men, both in their 50s, both with severe bone injuries.

• One of them had fractures to his ribs, skull, pelvis, limbs and spine. He probably died immediately.
• The second had fractures to the right leg, both arms, skull and pelvis, which probably led to an immediate or near-fatal outcome.

Skeletons of two men who died not from volcanic events but from the collapse of the walls / Photo by Pompeii Archaeological Park

What caught the researchers’ attention was that the bones were found bent, arms above the head, as if in a defensive position, with faint traces of a round object resembling a wooden shield right above it. It is thought that the deceased resided in Pompeii He knew the imminent danger that threatened him from the brickFalling on the body and trying to protect itself, albeit in vain.

The key point in this story is that both skeletons were found on top of volcanic pumice, not buried in it. This means that They survived the first stage of the explosion, but were later killed by falling walls..

One of the skeletons / Photo: Pompeii Archaeological Park

One of the skeletons / Photo: Pompeii Archaeological Park

It is well known that seismic activity often accompanies volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes were recorded in the area in the years before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. However, the destruction of the city was so extensive that it is difficult to determine whether the earthquake occurred simultaneously with the eruption.

This house and these skeletons are the evidence that finally reveals the true extent of the disaster.