Not an earthquake, but another natural disaster made Pompeii's volcanic eruption deadlier: study

In a new study, researchers from the Pompeii Archaeological Park and the National Institute of Volcanic Geophysics (INGV) found that the Vesuvius eruption was made more deadly by another natural disaster, not an earthquake.

The collaborative study confirmed the effects of seismic activity associated with the volcanic eruption that occurred in 79 AD.

This is the first study to address the complex task of understanding the effects of simultaneous earthquakes.

The situation is made more difficult by the possibility of volcanic and seismic effects occurring simultaneously or in rapid succession, meaning that volcanic effects are likely to overwhelm those caused by earthquakes and vice versa.

“These complexities are like a jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces have to fit together to reveal the full picture,” said Dr. Domenico Sparris, a volcanologist at the Vesuviano Observatory Institute in Sweden and first author of the Frontiers in Earth Sciences study.

“We have shown that seismic activity during the eruption played a major role in the destruction of Pompeii, and may have influenced the choices of the Pompeii inhabitants who faced inevitable death,” he added.

“A correct identification of the cause-and-effect relationship is essential to reconstruct the interaction 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 the National Institute of Geophysics.

Two skeletons tell the story of how Pompeii collapsed

While excavating the Painters' House of Work, researchers noticed that something was wrong with the collapsed buildings.

“We found strange characteristics that contradicted the effects of volcanic phenomena described in the volcanological literature dedicated to Pompeii,” said study co-author Dr. Mauro De Vito, a volcanologist and director of the INGV-Osservatorio Vesuviano. “There had to be a different explanation.”

Researchers discovered two skeletons with severe traumatic injuries and fractures, and decided to find out why.

Small particles of rock and ash had been raining down on the city for 18 hours, and when the eruption began, the surviving residents likely thought they were safe in their shelters until the strong earthquakes began.

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“People who did not flee their shelters were probably swept away by the earthquake-induced collapse of already overburdened buildings. This was the fate of the two people we recovered,” said Dr. Valeria Amoretti, an anthropologist who heads the Laboratory of Applied Research at the Pompeii Archaeological Park and co-author of the study.

“The new discoveries about the destruction of Pompeii bring us much closer to the experience of the people who lived here 2,000 years ago,” concluded Dr. Gabriele Zuchtriegl, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park and co-author of the study. “The choices they made and the dynamics of events, which remain the focus of our research, determined life and death in the final hours of the city’s existence.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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Brisha is a digital journalist at WION, mainly covering international politics. She loves to delve into topics and explore different cultures and histories.

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