Exceptional archaeological discovery in Herculaneum: found the skeleton of a man fleeing the eruption of Vesuvius

The skeleton of a man of about 40 who tried to save himself from the eruption of Vesuvius was discovered in the archaeological excavations of Herculaneum

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A new archaeological discovery could prove essential to learn more about that terrible night in 79 AD when the eruption of Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum. In this last town a human skeleton was found, what remains of a man on the run who tried to save himself.

The incredible discovery of a skeleton of a man of about 40 years in the excavations of the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, experts are making a lot of discussion about the repercussions it could have on the knowledge of some details of what happened during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD

The skeleton is that of a person who has tried in vain to save himself and whose identity is still mysterious at the moment, although several hypotheses have already been formulated. The remains were found a few meters from where the sea was at the time, that is on the ancient beach of the town, in the same place where the remains of over 1980 fugitives who hoped for were unearthed between 1990 and 300. to be saved thanks to the arrival of ships.

The skeleton of the last fugitive found was at the base of a stone wall more than 26 meters high, it was thrown with its head back and towards the sea, surrounded by charred woods, including the beam of a roof that could be fall on the head.

Posted by Ercolano - Parco Archeologico on Friday, October 15, 2021

An interesting challenge for archaeologists is now to understand who this man was and what role he had, given that he was not like others sheltered in the town's warehouses. Some hypotheses have already been formulated, as stated by Francesco Sirano, Director of the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum:

It could be a rescuer, a companion of Pliny's officer who in the 80s was found about twenty meters away from this point, also on the beach. Or one of the fugitives, who had left the group to reach the sea hoping to be able to embark on one of the lifeboats, who knows perhaps the last and most unfortunate of a group that had managed to take off.

Another hypothesis is that the man was on a lookout waiting for the rescue boats. To try to better understand these and other details, the skeleton will be removed and examined in the laboratory and who knows that this find will not reveal some more details about that terrible night.

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Source: Reuters