Random Bizarre Things Most People Don't Know About The Bodies Preserved At Pompeii (17 items)

(#7) The Bodies Show Signs Of The Pyroclastic Surge Death Wave

Many experts believe that, after the initial wave of falling pumice and debris, whipping heat tornadoes washed over the city and instantly killed everyone in the way. This natural phenomenon is called a pyroclastic surge.

According to this theory, the victims in the fetal position didn't end up that way because of a slow and drawn-out death. Instead, they're in what's called "extreme cadaveric spasm," when the body's muscles instantly contract from extreme dehydration.

Crack patterns in the skeletons lend further proof to the theory that Pompeians died from incredible heat.
(#9) Contemporary CT Scans Are Correcting Old Assumptions About The Bodies

People during the Victorian era loved a good drama. So when Fiorelli's team began piecing together the story of Pompeii, many people created stories for the bodies based on misleading evidence. There's the pregnant woman who was consumed by hot ash and the embracing lovers known as the "Two Maidens."

But modern CT scans have debunked some of the most dearly held of these totally unfounded tales.

That poor pregnant woman wasn't pregnant, and she probably wasn't a she at all. The "Two Maidens" were both men, and we'll probably never know the true nature of their relationship. The Victorian stories for the figures are compelling, but they're far from accurate.
(#1) The Plaster Bodies Are Full Of Bones

To create the preserved bodies at Pompeii, Fiorelli and his team poured plaster into soft cavities in the ash, which were about 30 feet beneath the surface. These cavities were the outlines of bodies, and they retained their forms despite the soft tissue decomposing over time.

The plaster filled in the spaces formerly occupied by soft tissue.

A common misconception is that the plaster bodies are empty. But the cavities the bodies left were not shells in the ash waiting for the plaster. In fact, they were soft spots that still held the bones of the cadavers. When the plaster filled the soft ash, the bones were enclosed. The bodies of Pompeii are even more lifelike than they appear.
(#10) They Prove Pompeii Was As Diverse As Modern Day New York City

There's a body at Pompeii that's come to be known as "Celt from Gaul" because of its unusually tall height and unique manner of dress. That suggests the man could've come from somewhere north of Pompeii. For a long time, many assumed the man was a slave captured by the Romans.

But now we know that might not be the case.

In the 1st century, Pompeii was an important trade city where merchants from across the Mediterranean lived and worked. Experts have used bone analysis to determine the genetic makeup of Pompeii, and many agree the diversity was similar to modern cities like New York City and London. People from Greece, Gaul, and other surrounding Mediterranean countries comprised the population.
(#5) The Casual Positions Of The Bodies Indicate How People Might've Died

Researchers discovered some of the Pompeii bodies in the fetal position. It's a common sign of suffocation, so many experts assume the victims died when hot gasses roared through the city. Scientists also know that raining pumice caused roof collapses that killed Some Pompeians who remained indoors.

But excavators also discovered bodies in relatively casual positions. This led some scientists to believe that incredibly high temperatures from the eruption killed the Pompeians, not prolonged suffocation by ash.
(#3) Some Victims Died In An Eruption-Related Earthquake

When Vesuvius erupted, along with spewing volcanic ash and gas, it triggered earthquakes that were just as deadly. In May 2023, archaeologists announced they had discovered the skeletons of two people who perished in the earthquake that accompanied the eruption.
The bodies of what were likely two males at least 55 years old were found beneath a collapsed wall in Pompeii's House of the Chaste Lovers (a building that gets its name from a wall painting that depicts a kissing couple).
The discovery shows that structures collapsed not just because of the accumulation of lava or pumice, but also due to strong earth-shaking.
The Pompeii Archaelogical Park said in a statement:
Part of the south wall of the room collapsed, crushing one of the men whose raised arm offers a tragic image of his vain attempt to protect himself from the falling masonry. The conditions of the west wall demonstrate the tremendous force of the earthquakes that took place at the same time as the eruption: the entire upper section was detached and fell into the room, crushing and burying the other individual.