It’s a chilling discovery.
Archaeologists in Pompeii have unearthed the well-preserved remains of a man and woman who died clutching ancient treasures.
The woman was found on her bed, surrounded by gold, silver and bronze coins, as well as jewellery including pearls and gold earrings, and the man was not far from her.
Archaeological Park Director Gabriel Zuchtriegel called the recent discovery “invaluable” in an ancient city lost in a volcanic eruption in Region IX of Mount Vesivius, where several rare treasures have recently been discovered.
This gives us a better understanding of daily life around 79 AD.
He said the find “confirms the uniqueness of the Vesuvius region by recovering a significant amount of information about the daily life of the people of ancient Pompeii and the microhistory of some of its people, with an accurate and timely record.”
The preserved pair was recovered in a temporary service area. Cubicuro Because the house was being renovated, (bedroom)
They took refuge there to protect themselves from falling pumice that was hitting the vacant lots around their home.
The door was closed, so this little room, unlike most of the building, was free of flying debris.
But scientists say volcanic rock filled the adjacent rooms, blocking the victims’ escape routes, and they perished horribly in the “pyroclastic flows” that engulfed the city.
Experts also found that the room contained a wooden bed, a chest of drawers, a stool, bronze candlesticks and a marble table.
The latter were on bronze, glass and ceramic objects.
Zuftriegel said experts would now “work together to reconstruct the final moments in the lives of the men, women and children who died in one of the greatest natural disasters of antiquity.”
