Two More Victims of the Eruption, Along with a Small Treasure of Coins and Precious Ornaments, Found in Pompeii

Discoveries continue in the excavation area of Regio IX, Insula 10 of Pompeii, where archaeological investigations are being carried out as part of a broader project aimed at securing the excavation fronts.

The latest finding, for which an initial scientific overview was recently published in the Pompeii Excavations E-Journal, is a space where two victims of the eruption were found, a man and a woman. The latter, found on a bed, had with her a small treasure of gold, silver, and bronze coins, along with some ornaments, including gold and pearl earrings.

The small space, a service area used as a temporary cubicle (room) during the house’s renovation, located behind the already documented blue sacrarium and accessible from the large hall decorated in Style II, was chosen as a refuge by these two people, hoping to wait out the lapilli rain that had been invading the open spaces of the rest of the house for hours.

Gold coins found next to the two new victims of the eruption of Pompeii in 79 A.D. Credit: Ministero della Cultura

The space, thanks to the closed window, remained free of the pumice stones that instead filled the adjacent hall, effectively blocking the possibility for the two victims to open the door and escape. Trapped in the narrow room, they met their death with the arrival of the pyroclastic flows.

The traces in the ash allowed for the reconstruction of the furniture and identification of its exact position at the time of the eruption: a bed, a chest, a bronze candlestick, and a table with a marble top, with bronze, glass, and ceramic utensils still in place.

The excavation project is part of a broader approach, developed in recent years with the aim of improving the protection and hydrological regime of the excavation fronts. Based on the data collected during this period, the Archaeological Park is committed to calibrating its approach, focusing on the restoration, conservation, and accessibility aspects of the heritage, and carefully delineating the excavation areas within the city buried in 79 AD.

One of the two individuals found. Credit: Ministero della Cultura

At the same time, significant ministerial and governmental investments are allocated to new excavations in the surrounding territory, from Civita Giuliana to the Villa of the Mysteries and the ancient Oplontis in the Municipality of Torre Annunziata.

The opportunity to analyze the highly valuable anthropological data related to the two victims found in the archaeological context that marked their tragic end allows for the recovery of a remarkable amount of information about the daily life of ancient Pompeiians and the microhistories of some of them, with precise and timely documentation, confirming the uniqueness of the Vesuvian territory, states the Park Director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel.

A project that involves the collaboration between archaeologists, anthropologists, and volcanologists dedicated to reconstructing the last moments of life of the men, women, and children who perished during one of the greatest natural disasters of antiquity. Pompeii remains a great workshop of research and restoration, but in the coming years, we expect significant advances in archaeological excavations and the enhancement of the territory, thanks also to the investments recently announced by the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano.

Earrings and other ornaments found in the place. Credit: Ministero della Cultura

SOURCES

Ministero della Cultura

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