Earthquake simultaneously with eruption could have caused deaths in Pompeii - study
Kyiv • UNN
A new study suggests that an earthquake during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD could have caused the collapse of buildings and the deaths of Pompeii residents. Scientists have found evidence of seismic activity that coincided with the volcanic eruption.
Studies have shown that the people who died in Pompeii in 79 AD could have been killed by an earthquake that occurred simultaneously with the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius, UNN writes with reference to The Guardian.
Details
Scientists have debated for decades whether seismic activity occurred during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy almost 2000 years ago, and not just before it, as Pliny the Younger reported in his letters.
An article published on Thursday in the academic journal Frontiers in Earth Science took a fresh look at the world-famous archaeological site, arguing that one or more simultaneous earthquakes were "one of the causes of the collapse of buildings and the deaths of residents.
"Our findings suggest that the effects of building collapse caused by syn-eruptive seismicity (seismic activity during an eruption) should be considered as an additional cause of death in ancient Pompeii," the report says.
Archaeologists estimate that 15 to 20% of the population of Pompeii died as a result of the eruption, mostly from heat shock when a giant cloud of gases and ash covered the city.
Back then, volcanic ash buried the Roman city, perfectly preserving houses, public buildings, objects, and even people until its discovery in the late 16th century.
In May 2023, archaeologists discovered the skeletons of two men who apparently died not from the heat and clouds of fire gas and ash, but from injuries caused by the collapse of the walls, providing valuable new data.
"It is worth noting that such injuries are similar to those of people affected by modern earthquakes," write the authors, who determined that the collapse of the walls was not due to falling stones and debris, but to seismic activity.
"From a broader perspective that takes into account the entire city, we consider it a working hypothesis that casualties caused by seismic building collapses may not be limited to two people," the authors write.
The intersection of volcanic and seismic activity requires an interdisciplinary approach, the study argues, with the cooperation of archaeologists and earth scientists.
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