Two more victims of Vesuvius are found in Pompeii – 05/16/2023 – Science

Two skeletons have been found in the ruins of Pompeii, the ancient Roman city destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago, Italy’s Ministry of Culture said on Tuesday.

The skeletons were recovered from a site known as the “House of Painters at Work” and are believed to be those of two men in their 50s who died in an earthquake that accompanied the eruption, a ministry statement said.

Pompeii Archaeological Park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said they were killed not by volcanic ash but by collapsing buildings, noting that fragments of walls were found among their fractured bones.

“Modern excavation techniques help us to better understand the inferno that completely destroyed the city of Pompeii over two days, killing many inhabitants,” said the German archaeologist.

Pompeii, 23 kilometers southeast of Naples, was home to around 13,000 people when it was buried under ash, rock and dust, as it faced the force of an eruption in AD 79 equivalent to many atomic bombs.

The Ministry of Culture said “at least 15-20% of the population” was killed. Over the past two and a half centuries, archaeologists have recovered the remains of more than 1,300 victims.

The site of Pompeii, not discovered until the 16th century, has seen a recent burst of archaeological activity aimed at halting years of decay and neglect, thanks in large part to a €105 million project by the European Union.