The latest discovery in Pompeii provides chilling insights into the final moments of a man and a woman before the city was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius.
During excavations in Region IX, Insula 10, of Pompeii, archaeologists unearthed the skeletal remains of a man and a woman, according to a press release from the Archaeological Park of Pompeii shared on Monday.
“We know the woman was between 35 and 45 years of age, and the man was much younger, between 15 and 20 years of age,” Sophie Hay, an archaeologist with the park, told Digitial in an email. “We do not know the relationship between them nor their social status.”
The woman carried several valuable objects, adding to the tragedy of her final moments.
“The woman had on her person a purse and probably a small casket both filled with precious and valuable objects such as gold, silver and bronze coins, small engraved gemstones, some pendants, and a pair of gold and pearl earrings,” Hays told Digital.
“We know the objects had a monetary value, but we will never know what sentimental value they may have had for her, nor even if they belonged to her. The items must have represented something in the moments of chaos and terror that she thought would be important to take, whether for their monetary value or, especially in the case of the jewelry, personal belongings that meant something to her.”
The two sought refuge in a small room, where they became trapped.
“As with each victim of the eruption, their individual death tells us a micro-story of the last moments of their lives. The very nature of this discovery – a man and a woman trapped in a room during a violent volcanic eruption – perhaps gives us a glimpse as to how absolutely terrifying the moments before their deaths must have been,” Hays told Digital.
“In this case, the most significant thing we have learned is that they died at different stages of the eruption having both protected themselves against the 18 hours of falling pumice. The man was trapped in the corner of the room and the perimeter wall collapsed on him during an early stage of the pyroclastic flow, and the woman who had partially fallen onto the wooden bed in the room had died sometime later in another wave of the pyroclastic material,” Hays said. “These people decided to seek shelter in their home rather than flee, and the room in which they sought safety became their tomb.”
Since Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, claiming the lives of about 2,000 people living in Pompeii, the city was rediscovered by explorers in 1748, per History.com.
The volcanic ash covering the ancient city left much of it preserved, leading to ongoing discoveries.
Since the site was rediscovered, it has been visited by millions of tourists each year and serves as a dig site for archaeologists to unearth historic finds that further tell the story of life in the ancient city.
In 1997, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Other notable discoveries include a prison bakery where enslaved workers and donkeys were held, and a banquet room filled with artwork depicting mythological characters inspired by the Trojan War.
The discovery of the man and woman was found south of the Roman shrine with rare blue paint covering the walls of the room that was uncovered in June.