The remains of people trapped in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius tell a tragic story of suffering, a new analysis of the bones reveals.
On August 24, 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying cities such as Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ash.
Pompeii has been preserved by volcanic ash, making it a unique archaeological site. But mudslides and huge clouds of hot, toxic gas and volcanic material destroyed the wealthy coastal town of Herculaneum. The site is near the area now known as Naples, Italy.
In a cruel twist of fate, the residents of Herculaneum witnessed the eruption and actually took shelter in boats along the water’s edge, trying to escape its destructive path.
“Herculaneum is interesting because of its location,” said study author Tim Thompson, professor of applied biological anthropology at Teesside University in the UK. “This provides a snapshot of people’s reactions and responses to the eruption, which is not available at Pompeii.”
But the beach and vaulted stone boathouse became the final resting place for hundreds of residents. Many of those who died on shore were adult or young adult men, and a significant number of those who died in boathouses included women and children.
The boathouse, known as Fornici, was first discovered in 1980. Three separate excavations of the vaulted space uncovered the remains of at least 340 people. Previous studies have suggested that the volcanic cloud descended on the town quickly and may have traveled at speeds of 100 to 300 kilometers per hour, trapping them in the boathouse.
Researchers initially believed that the people’s skin and soft tissues were vaporized by the heat, which was originally estimated to reach between 572 and 932 degrees Fahrenheit. That evaporation would have killed them instantly.
However, the research team decided to reexamine the skeleton using new bone analysis techniques to find out how it died. Their findings were published Thursday in the journal Antiquity.
Researchers found that the remains were not exposed to the high temperatures expected by the volcano’s pyroclastic flows or large clouds of toxic gases and substances. The temperatures they faced remained below 752 degrees Fahrenheit, based on studies of ribs taken from 152 skeletons and the discovery that collagen was still present in the bones. Collagen gelatinizes into a jelly-like substance at temperatures above 932 degrees Fahrenheit.
The structure of bones changes in response to heat due to the mineral content, which is present in the form of small crystals. And more collagen remained in the bones than expected.
“Heat causes some changes on the outside of the bone, but not necessarily inside the bone,” Thompson says. “What’s interesting is that not only was the collagen well preserved, but we also found evidence of heat-induced changes in bone crystallinity. We also confirmed that the victims were not burned by the high temperatures.”
The boathouse also helped provide protection from the oppressive heat.
Unfortunately for Vesuvius’ victims, that means they lived long enough to be burned alive in stone boathouses while suffocating with toxic gases, researchers say.
“These people died, but it wasn’t from instantaneous soft tissue evaporation,” Thompson said. “They took cover to protect themselves and got stuck. Not only their own weight, but the walls of the fornici also dispersed the heat inside the boathouse. This is closely related to bread making.”
In another study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers analyzed the skulls of Vesuvius victims and found brain remains that had been vitrified, or turned into a glass-like substance, by heat.
Research has shown that the remains belonged to a person also recovered in Herculaneum, who was found lying face down on a wooden bed buried in volcanic ash. The bones were charred by the intense heat received after the eruption.
The remains were discovered in the 1960s, but are they glassy remains? Recently, part of that person’s brain was discovered in his skull. They discovered a glassy, black substance, and further investigation revealed that it contained several proteins associated with brain tissue, along with adipic and margaric fatty acids found in sebum and hair. These were not found in the materials surrounding the site.
Charred wood indicated that the temperature at the scene reached 968 degrees Fahrenheit. Researchers believe the extreme heat ignited the person’s body fat, vaporizing soft tissue and vitrifying fatty proteins in the brain.
The researchers noted that preservation of brain tissue, or vitrification of it, at such ancient sites is incredibly rare. The only historical example they could find for comparison was what happened to victims of firestorms during World War II.
“Given the discovery of vitrified brain remains in victims of the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD, it may be of some interest to the scientific community to begin a discussion about the process of vitrification that occurs in human remains,” the researchers wrote.
Fix: A previous version of this 2020 article incorrectly stated the speed at which volcanic clouds moved.
