The skeleton of a man crushed by an enormous stone while trying to flee the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago has been discovered at the Pompeii archaeological site.
Archaeologists working at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy, found the man’s remains from A.D. 79. The skeleton appears to be of a man who survived the initial explosion and was fleeing the city.
“Initial observations would appear to indicate that the individual survived the first eruptive phase of the volcano, and subsequently sought salvation along the alley now covered in a thick layer of lapilli,” officials explained in a Facebook post.
But archaeologists said a leg injury may have slowed him down before being hurled back by the volcano’s pyroclastic flow (hot lava blocks, pumice and volcanic ash) and then he was crushed by a giant stone — possibly decapitating him.
“A formidable stone block (perhaps a door jamb), violently thrown by the volcanic cloud, collided with his upper body, crushing the highest part of the thorax and yet-to-be-identified head, which lie at a lower height of the lower limbs, and probably under the stone block,” officials stated.
On Tuesday, Pompeii officials released a photograph showing the victim, who may have been in his 30s, pinned under a large block of stone.
The archaeological site’s general director, Massimo Osanna, said despite the “emotional impact of these discoveries” it was “an exceptional find,” that contributes to a better “picture of the history and civilization of the age.”
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