The partially mutilated remains of a man buried in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD were found in Herculaneum, an ancient Roman city near Pompeii. According to the Italian Minister of Culture, this was a “sensational” find.
Archaeologists said the man, believed to be between 40 and 45 years old, was killed a few steps from the sea while trying to escape the eruption.
His skeleton was found on a beach in an ancient city with his head facing the sea, surrounded by a charred roof beam that could have shattered his skull, Italian news agency Ansa reported.
“The last moments here were instant, but terrible,” said Francesco Cyrano, director of the Herculaneum Archaeological Park.
“It was one in the morning when the pyroclastic wave caused by the volcano first reached the city with a temperature of 300-400 degrees, and according to some studies even 500-700 degrees. A white-hot cloud, rushing towards the sea at a speed of 100 km per hour, was so dense that there was no oxygen in it. “
The bones of the man were bright red, which, according to Cyrano, was “a trail of stains left by the victim’s blood.”
The discovery was made during the first archaeological excavations at Herculaneum, a much smaller and less known site than neighboring Pompeii, in nearly three decades.
Excavations in the 1980s and 90s have unearthed the skeletons of more than 300 victims found in boat sheds where they are believed to have taken refuge while awaiting rescue from the sea.
Dario Franceschini, Italy’s Minister of Culture, said: “The sensational discovery of the remains of a fugitive at the archaeological site of Herculaneum is great news, primarily because this find is linked to the reopening at the site after nearly 30 years of work. Herculaneum was buried about 15 meters under a layer of volcanic ash until it was rediscovered during the digging of a well in the early 18th century.
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