The discovery of two skeletons buried beneath a collapsed wall in the Pompeii archaeological site point to deaths by powerful earthquakes that accompanied the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the first century, experts said Tuesday, in addition to the victims of volcanic ash and gas.
The two skeletons believed to be men at least 55 years old were found in the Casti Amanti, or House of Chaste Lovers, beneath a wall that collapsed before the area was covered in volcanic material. The area was likely undergoing reconstruction work at the time of the eruption in A.D. 79, following an earthquake a few days earlier.
“In recent years, we have realized there were violent, powerful seismic events that were happening at the time of the eruption,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park.
POMPEII RUINS UNEARTH ‘MASTER AND SLAVE’ REMAINS