Berliner Boersenzeitung - Two new skeletons found at Pompeii excavations

EUR -
AED 4.0815
AFN 76.119647
ALL 99.007795
AMD 430.967388
ANG 2.001275
AOA 1031.778678
ARS 1072.613289
AUD 1.625062
AWG 2.002989
AZN 1.888998
BAM 1.954214
BBD 2.242011
BDT 132.69413
BGN 1.953228
BHD 0.418726
BIF 3215.895011
BMD 1.111228
BND 1.433937
BOB 7.69021
BRL 6.153093
BSD 1.110414
BTN 92.760639
BWP 14.620993
BYN 3.633564
BYR 21780.076786
BZD 2.238315
CAD 1.504214
CDF 3189.225807
CHF 0.942271
CLF 0.037163
CLP 1025.452722
CNY 7.835938
CNH 7.846112
COP 4625.477134
CRC 575.861278
CUC 1.111228
CUP 29.447553
CVE 110.289778
CZK 25.131431
DJF 197.487351
DKK 7.458559
DOP 66.951303
DZD 147.321137
EGP 54.084374
ERN 16.668426
ETB 130.58227
FJD 2.440202
FKP 0.846266
GBP 0.832693
GEL 3.033521
GGP 0.846266
GHS 17.44912
GIP 0.846266
GMD 76.674473
GNF 9614.905621
GTQ 8.589147
GYD 232.324049
HKD 8.65323
HNL 27.725158
HRK 7.555254
HTG 146.348504
HUF 394.752464
IDR 16869.558453
ILS 4.207839
IMP 0.846266
INR 92.962535
IQD 1455.709214
IRR 46774.379259
ISK 151.67195
JEP 0.846266
JMD 174.458454
JOD 0.787527
JPY 159.589058
KES 143.348148
KGS 93.620715
KHR 4522.699425
KMF 490.440892
KPW 1000.104937
KRW 1482.556278
KWD 0.33898
KYD 0.925366
KZT 533.938023
LAK 24538.697886
LBP 99566.065619
LKR 338.272286
LRD 215.856004
LSL 19.378831
LTL 3.281168
LVL 0.672171
LYD 5.272781
MAD 10.773379
MDL 19.36064
MGA 5061.645769
MKD 61.538788
MMK 3609.226521
MNT 3775.954079
MOP 8.905315
MRU 44.132442
MUR 50.805667
MVR 17.068558
MWK 1929.092228
MXN 21.596352
MYR 4.670498
MZN 70.951632
NAD 19.440984
NGN 1820.880789
NIO 40.859497
NOK 11.678916
NPR 148.425257
NZD 1.773029
OMR 0.427779
PAB 1.110464
PEN 4.16151
PGK 4.349574
PHP 62.212118
PKR 309.029895
PLN 4.271618
PYG 8642.987532
QAR 4.045149
RON 4.974856
RSD 117.042373
RUB 101.627398
RWF 1491.268523
SAR 4.169032
SBD 9.230905
SCR 14.993439
SDG 668.401932
SEK 11.321089
SGD 1.434594
SHP 0.846266
SLE 25.388572
SLL 23301.898376
SOS 634.510999
SRD 33.820794
STD 23000.184473
SVC 9.716248
SYP 2791.99464
SZL 19.443364
THB 36.592567
TJS 11.803629
TMT 3.889299
TND 3.367813
TOP 2.602606
TRY 37.908679
TTD 7.550316
TWD 35.627049
TZS 3033.653892
UAH 45.977817
UGX 4107.722657
USD 1.111228
UYU 46.213129
UZS 14151.493315
VEF 4025483.283718
VES 40.856296
VND 27358.443391
VUV 131.927269
WST 3.10862
XAF 655.463532
XAG 0.036199
XAU 0.000423
XCD 3.00315
XDR 0.821482
XOF 652.848945
XPF 119.331742
YER 278.168281
ZAR 19.285175
ZMK 10002.397537
ZMW 29.454825
ZWL 357.815094
  • RBGPF

    1.8300

    58.83

    +3.11%

  • RYCEF

    0.1100

    7.06

    +1.56%

  • CMSC

    -0.0800

    25.07

    -0.32%

  • BCC

    4.1500

    141.65

    +2.93%

  • NGG

    0.9300

    70.48

    +1.32%

  • VOD

    0.1000

    10.11

    +0.99%

  • RELX

    0.8700

    48.86

    +1.78%

  • BCE

    0.0600

    35.1

    +0.17%

  • SCS

    0.0900

    13.01

    +0.69%

  • RIO

    1.0100

    64.58

    +1.56%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.3

    -0.15%

  • GSK

    0.0600

    40.86

    +0.15%

  • CMSD

    -0.0150

    25.005

    -0.06%

  • AZN

    -1.2400

    77.14

    -1.61%

  • BTI

    0.4600

    37.9

    +1.21%

  • BP

    0.2200

    32.86

    +0.67%

Two new skeletons found at Pompeii excavations
Two new skeletons found at Pompeii excavations / Photo: Handout - Parco Archeologico di Pompei press office/AFP

Two new skeletons found at Pompeii excavations

Archaeologists at Pompeii said Tuesday that they had uncovered two new skeletons of male victims who likely died in an earthquake that accompanied the devastating volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which buried the Italian city in ash in AD 79.

Text size:

The pair, believed to be two males aged at least 55, were found in recent excavations at Pompeii's "Chaste Lovers" block of buildings.

They are believed to have been killed as an earthquake knocked down a wall in the room where they sought shelter. One of the skeletons had an arm raised as if in defence.

The earthquake struck as the huge blast from nearby Mount Vesuvius covered the city of Pompeii with thick volcanic ash, preserving the bodies of many of its residents.

To date, the remains of more than 1,000 people have been uncovered throughout the sprawling site, most recently in November 2020 when archaeologists unearthed two bodies, believed to be a young enslaved person and his possible owner.

The two newly discovered victims announced Tuesday "probably died due to multiple traumas caused by the collapse of part of the building", the Pompeii archaeological park said in a statement.

They were found in what is believed to be a storeroom inside the "Chaste Lovers" block, where colourful frescoes and the skeletons of mules who worked the millstones for grain have been uncovered in the past.

The skeletons were found lying on their side with their legs curled up, and one wore a ring on his left hand.

Archaeologists estimate that 15 to 20 percent of Pompeii's population died in the eruption, mostly from thermal shock as a giant cloud of gases and ash covered the city.

- Protecting himself -

Earthquakes before and during the eruption, as documented in letters by Roman author Pliny the Younger, also took their toll.

"Among the causes of death, the collapse of buildings, in some cases due to earthquakes that accompanied the eruption, proved to be a lethal threat," the park said.

Pompeii's director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said modern technology was helping archaeologists "better understand the hell that completely destroyed the city of Pompeii in two days, killing many inhabitants: children, women and men".

Traces of what is believed to be a cloth bundle were found next to one of the victims, containing necklace beads and coins.

Inside the room was an amphora and a collection of bowls and jugs, while an adjacent room contained a home shrine in the form of a fresco, and a narrow bathroom with a toilet.

In the room where the men were found, part of a wall had collapsed, hitting one of the victims "whose raised arm perhaps refers to the tragic image of a vain attempt to protect himself from falling masonry", the park said.

(S.G.Stein--BBZ)