In A.D. 79, a sudden volcanic eruption turned the once peaceful port city into a scene of chaos. Volcanic ash soared several kilometers into the air, and hot boulders and toxic gases poured down the mountainside at a speed of 700 kilometers per hour. The city was engulfed in flames in an instant. A family blocked the door with a wooden bed to shield themselves from the falling ash, but it was in vain.
The New York Times reported on the 11th (local time) about a paper that depicted the life-or-death struggle occurring in a mansion in Pompeii, a former Roman resort town and trade hub, during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy.
This study details the circumstances in which family members desperately responded to the catastrophe up to their last moments, resonating with historians as well as the general public interested in Pompeii's final day. The paper was published in the electronic journal "Scavi di Pompei" on the 30th of last month.
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 struck the nearby trade city of Pompeii hard. Immediately after the eruption, ash and volcanic rock surged into the sky, causing most of the city's residents to lose their lives. Most residents at the time were buried in volcanic ash, and excavations began revealing their harrowing remains in the 18th century.
The Pompeii Archaeological Park research team focused on four skeletons found in a small mansion on Vesuvius Street in ancient Pompeii. Archaeologists discovered a richly decorated fresco in the dining room of this house, depicting the siblings Phrixus and Helle from Greek mythology, leading them to call it "the house of Helle and Phrixus."
When a volcano erupts, boulders of various sizes are expelled into the sky, and among them, volcanic ash (lapilli) ranges from 2 to 64 millimeters in diameter. According to researchers, this family made desperate efforts to shield themselves from the falling ash during the eruption. Evidence was found suggesting they blocked the door with a wooden bed when ash and boulders poured into their room. However, all their efforts were in vain, and soon the house was filled with volcanic ash.
Like other ancient Roman residences, this house also featured an open space in the center for ventilation and rainwater collection. It appears that volcanic ash rapidly poured into the house through this sunken area.
The researchers initially suspect that the four skeletons found in this house belonged to the same family. Among the remains, bronze amulets commonly worn by children at that time were discovered, which were worn around the neck to protect boys from danger until they reached adulthood, indicating at least one male child was included.
The family was found in the triclinium, a banquet hall. Researchers speculate that they attempted a final escape as volcanic ash poured into the room despite having set up a barrier with a bed.
Gabriel Chuktriegel, a researcher at the Pompeii Archaeological Park and author of the paper, noted, "It is highly likely that they died as part of the building collapsed when volcanic pyroclastic flows, a phenomenon where hot ash and toxic gases poured down like an avalanche, reached their home."
During the excavation, no door thresholds or ornaments were found in the house. It is likely that renovations were underway. Researchers hypothesize that the victims continued to reside in the house during the repairs, only to meet their end there.
Researchers believe that some of the remains found in this house might belong to slaves who worked in the household. However, they stated that it is unclear whether slaves lived in the house at that time or if the homeowner took refuge there after escaping. Marcello Mogetta, an associate professor at the University of Missouri, said in an interview with The New York Times, "It is uncertain whether those found as victims in the house were family members."
At one time, the ruins of Pompeii suffered from irresponsible excavation activities by explorers and looters seeking jewels or works of art. Early excavators showed no interest in preserving remains or in the dignity of death. Explorers commissioned by Charles III of France in the 18th century conducted rudimentary excavations, during which the remains of victims found in the house of Helle and Phrixus were also damaged.
However, as scientists have developed methods to preserve victim remains as plaster casts and as genetic analysis technologies have advanced, efforts to elucidate the tragic stories from the volcanic eruption are gaining momentum.
In 1863, archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli developed a method to fill the cavities left by decayed soft tissue of victims in Pompeii with liquid plaster to create casts. Using this method, archaeologists preserved the horrifying final moments of 104 victims from Pompeii.
Using this technology, scientists are estimating how the remains of victims, as well as the placement of furniture and perishable goods in Pompeian dwellings during the volcanic eruption, were arranged. Recently, research has been conducted to analyze the DNA of bone fragments removed from these plaster casts to determine family relationships.
Last year, researchers from the University of Florence in Italy, Harvard University in the United States, and the Max Planck Institute in Germany revealed in the international journal Current Biology that two remains believed to be lovers discovered embracing in the ruins of Pompeii were actually young men.
In addition, it has been confirmed that among the remains found in the "House of the Golden Bracelets," which is one of the sites in Pompeii, a body previously thought to be that of a mother was actually that of an adult male who had a child. Scholars stated that DNA analysis could also determine whether the newly discovered remains belong to actual family members.
References
Scavi di Pompei, https://pompeiisites.org/e-journal-degli-scavi-di-pompei/
Current Biology(2024), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.007