(CN) — For 18 hours in 79 C.E., Pompeiians scrambled for shelter after Mount Vesuvius erupted, raining down pumice lapilli — small rock and ash particles — before pyroclastic flows of gas, ash and debris smothered the city. Between those two phases of eruption, however, inhabitants were additionally overwhelmed by earthquakes, according to a study published Wednesday in Frontiers in Earth Science.
Researchers from the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia and Pompeii Archaeological Park noticed something strange about collapsed buildings during the excavations in the “Casa dei Pittori al Lavoro.”
“We found peculiar characteristics that were inconsistent with the effects of volcanic phenomena described in the volcanological literature devoted to Pompeii,” study co-author Mauro Di Vito, director of INGV-Osservatorio Vesuviano, said in a press release accompanying the study.
And when they found two skeletons with severe fracture and trauma injuries similar to those suffered by individuals during modern earthquakes, the scientists were further motivated to investigate.
“Correctly recognizing the cause-effect relationship is essential to reconstruct the interplay between volcanic and seismic phenomena, and their effects on buildings and humans,” said study co-author Dr Fabrizio Galadini, a geologist and senior researcher at INGV.
First, the researchers needed to report on the effects of co-occurring earthquakes, which they considered a tricky task because of the possibility of volcanic and seismic effects happening concurrently or in quick succession.
“These complexities are like a jigsaw puzzle in which all the pieces must fit together to unravel the complete picture,” said first author Domenico Sparice, a volcanologist at INGV. “We proved that seismicity during the eruption played a significant role in the destruction of Pompeii and, possibly, influenced the choices of the Pompeiians who faced an inevitable death.”
At the “Casa dei Pittori al Lavoro,” or “House of the Painters at Work,” the two skeletons — remains of two men in their 50s —were laid on top of the pumice lapilli as opposed to lying under it, indicating that they did not die from inhaling ash or extreme heat.
Furthermore, Sparice said that Casa dei Pittori al Lavoro did not have structural collapses like those described in literature.
“The main peculiar characteristic was that a large wall fragment was laterally displaced and collapsed without toppling or overturning,” said Sparice via email. “In addition, the position of the collapsed wall fragment in the sequence of volcanic deposits led us to exclude a contribution of any volcanic phenomena. The collapse was not triggered by the weight of the lapilli on the roof and occurred before the arrival of the pyroclastic currents. The seismicity was found to be the most reliable and consistent explanation.”
The researchers concluded that the skeleton called “individual 1” likely died when a large wall fragment suddenly collapsed and crushed him. Meanwhile, the skeleton called “individual 2” had enough time to try to save himself with a round wooden object the researchers found faint traces of in the volcanic deposits.
Realistically, the researchers said that the number of victims found in the ash deposits show that while Pompeiians plausibly could have attempted to flee during the two eruptive phases, no one likely would have survived.
The study authors believe their research has implications for a lesser-known branch of paleopathological studies of victims of ancient earthquakes, for which very few cases exist in Italy. Also, the researchers said that their work is a starting point for an updated view of Pompeii’s destruction.
“The volcanological aspects may also be of interest for visitors as what we see today in Pompeii has been frozen in time by the most famous eruption of one of the most famed volcanoes in the world, Vesuvius,” said Sparice via email. “Our updated view of the destruction of Pompeii may increase the interest of people in the terrible events that affected, nearly 2,000 years ago, the everyday life of the Pompeiians. They were forced to make very difficult choices that, in any case, turned out to be deadly, and who helplessly faced a rain of lapilli, hot pyroclastic currents and, last but not least, strong earthquakes.”