Our Case

Our Case

On the 18th of October 2008, four members of the China archaeology team arrived at Pompeii, Italy in order to investigate on the new discovered bodies which were from the Mt. Vesuvius eruption which took place in 79AD. The historical venue was recently discovered by a local farmer. The Chinese archaeologists have confirmed a room which consisted of four bodies. In this report I, representing the Chinese archaeology team, will report our different findings.

Miraculously, we have found some description from Pliny the younger as he was writing to Tacitus about him and his mother on the day of the disastrous eruption.

Further in this historical blog, I will further go through our discoveries in greater detail and bring in some basic history about Pompeii and the eruption.

Basic history of Pompeii

History of Pompeii

Two cities, not one

Many people who've heard of Pompeii don't realize there were actually two cities that were destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum. Both were completely covered by volcanic ash when Vesuvius threw volcanic ash and hot burning rock on Aug. 24th in the year 79 AD.Both of these cities were forgotten until they were found by archaeologists again in the 1700s. Over time the cities became completely buried. Excavation, the process archaeologists use to dig up buried historical items, has been underway for several hundred years. Ath Pompeii currently, there are still many, many areas yet to be excavated and uncovered.

Pompeii the Extravagant City

What was Pompeii like before the eruption?

Pompeii was a city of 20,000 civilians. In many ways it was one of the worlds most high-tech cities in those days. Pompeii had indoor running water, an amazing marketplace and a structured government. The homes of the wealthiest citizens reveal beautiful works of art, particularly frescoes, pictures painted on the walls using a specific technique.

Pompeii also contained public baths, sidewalks and many private shops where its residents could purchase almost anything they wanted. Since Pompeii was a port city, located on the blue waters of the Bay of Naples, the people who lived there could take advantage of the many ships that made port in Pompeii. They brought goods from many other, exotic areas, to trade and sell in Pompeii and other Roman cities. The people themselves were one of the top classes of the Roman Empire at that time. There were several classes in Roman society, starting with the very wealthy and ending with slaves. The slaves were usually people who had been captured and used as soldiers in the following war. The slaves served the wealthier Romans and were the lowest class of people in Roman society.

Interesting Fact- The people of Pompeii wore togas, however like all Romans at the time, only in formal public places, as the togas were considered sacred garments.

What happened when Mt.Vesuvius exploded?

What happened when the Volcano exploded?

Almost all volcanoes are not all alike. Mount Vesuvius known as a Composite volcano. Composite volcanoes have one type of eruption; this is the kind you see in the movies where the volcano spits burning lava and where the volcano throws off ash and rock rolling down the volcano. The eruption that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum was of this monstrous type of eruption.

Many times before an eruption, a volcano will "rumble" a bit. Before the actual eruption, witnesses reported seeing a very large "cloud" over the top of the mountain. This cloud was made from volcanic ash. This was called the “Plinian Stage” of a Composite eruption. The ash from a burned object is usually very light. It looks harmless. However, volcanic ash chokes and suffocates every living object; this is what happened when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Volcanic ash is thick and heavy on top of that it erupts in massive amounts, along with hot burning rocks.

Preperation for the Eruption

How might they have done to prepare?

Most people in Pompeii, at that time, have never heard of an eruption and they might have not even ever heard of the huge volcano next to their city. People who never knew about the deadly volcano may have never done anything in order to prepare for the deadly disaster. They might have just carried on with their ordinary lives such as trading goods etc…

However, some people who have known how deadly the earthquake can be and may have token some basic preparation. They might run back to their homes every time the volcano started to rumble a bit. However, most of the homes were not strong enough in order to be totally safe from an earthquake. Most of the homes at that time were made from wood, these houses were easily destroyed from the molten rock and most of them were set into flames.

Excavation of Pompeii

Since the discovery in the 1700s, Pompeii has been in a state of excavation. Many teams of archaeologists from different countries have worked on the site, with the result that Pompeii has yielded many artifacts from ancient times. Many of the artifacts found in Pompeii are now in museums. Sadly, about 2,000 bodies were discovered, their outlines preserved forever by the hardened ash, mud and debris.


Our Discoveries

As I have written in the introduction we have excavated and confirmed an ancient room which consisted of four bodies. Below I will describe each item in greater detail.

The Bodies

Amongst the four bodies we have found two adults and two children, believed to be their children. Between the two adults there was both a man and women.

The Man- He was believed to be a farmer because the room was found next to some fertile soil which was thought a farm in the olden days. He was estimated to be 26-40 years old, and was approximately five foot ten. Pathologist confirms that there was a severe blow in the back of his head. It is thought that he was struck by a rock and died from severe lost of blood.

The Women-She was thought to be the housewife of the house and took care of the children. She was around 20-35 years old and was only five foot tall. Pathologist confirms she was pregnant when she died as there was a small human shape object in her stomach. Pathologist predicts that she died from the fire which lit after her husband was hit by the molten rock.

The Children- There was two children found in the site, both of them believed to be the adult’s children. They were thought to be twins who were aged 6-12. Pathologist confirms that they too were burnt to death by the molten rock.