News Archaeology

Ancient ash flow brought sudden death

By Sid Perkins

- More than 2 years ago

When volcanic death swept down the slopes of Mount Vesuvius into the city of Herculaneum in A.D. 79, it arrived so quickly that some residents didn’t even have time to flinch.

The twisted feet of this Vesuvius victim’s skeleton are evidence of rapid, heat-induced muscle contraction after death. Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo/Vesuvius Observatory

Researchers have excavated the skeletons of 80 victims who had sought shelter from the eruption in boathouses along the beach.