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ARCHAEOLOGY

Ancient Roman fugitives’ bones found in Pompeii shop

The skeletons of four ancient Romans, who died huddled together in the back of a shop during the fatal volcanic eruption of AD 79, have been unearthed in Pompeii.

Published: 27 June 2016 11:22 CEST
Ancient Roman fugitives' bones found in Pompeii shop
The four skeletons died in AD 79. Photo: Archaeological site of Pompeii

The surprise discovery was made by a team of French and Italian archaeologists during an attempt to find out more about the city's pre-Roman history, following the nearby discovery of a fourth century BC Samnite tomb last year.

The bodies were found in what archaeologists expect was a bronze-maker's workshop and early analysis reveals the remains belong to four young people, including a teenage girl.

“The find was made at Potra Ercolano, an area of the city where artisans used to make and sell their goods,” archaeologist Annalisa Capurso told The Local.


Part of the workshop. Photo: Archaeological site of Pompeii

Experts think the four youngsters had taken refuge in the back of the the workshop as ash and pumice began to rain down on the city during the fatal eruption of nearby Vesuvius.

“We know that the roof of the building didn't collapse during the eruption, so the group probably suffocated as hot ash and volcanic gas filled the shop,” Capurso added.

Near the remains, archaeologists found three gold coins dated 74, 77, and 79 AD and a golden necklace pendant in the shape of a leaf.


One of the coins found near the bones. Photo: Archaeological site of Pompeii

The bones of the four Romans were mixed together in a heap, having been hastily dug up and reburied by looters thousands of years ago.


The grave showed signs of having been disturbed. Photo: Photo: Archaeological site of Pompeii

“In the years after the eruption, Romans used to come to Pompeii and dig out anything they could recycle,” Capurso added.

While the huddling skeletons may have been a surprise find, archaeologists also turned up another Samnite tomb dating to the fourth century BC.

The limestone tomb, found near the workshop, contains the remains of a male individual who was buried alongside six black vases. The contents of the vases is unknown but they were most likely included as a funerary offering to the gods.


A jar found in the grave. Photo: Photo: Archaeological site of Pompeii

Experts will be carrying out more studies in the area over the coming months in the hope they can reveal more about the ancient city.

Pompeii is Italy's top cultural attraction bringing more than 2.5 million visitors each year.

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TODAY IN FRANCE

France to compensate relatives of Algerian Harki fighters

France has paved the way towards paying reparations to more relatives of Algerians who sided with France in their country's independence war but were then interned in French camps.

Published: 16 May 2023 08:29 CEST
France to compensate relatives of Algerian Harki fighters

More than 200,000 Algerians fought with the French army in the war that pitted Algerian independence fighters against their French colonial masters from 1954 to 1962.

At the end of the war, the French government left the loyalist fighters known as Harkis to fend for themselves, despite earlier promises it would look after them.

Trapped in Algeria, many were massacred as the new authorities took revenge.

Thousands of others who fled to France were held in camps, often with their families, in deplorable conditions that an AFP investigation recently found led to the deaths of dozens of children, most of them babies.

READ ALSO Who are the Harkis and why are they still a sore subject in France?

French President Emmanuel Macron in 2021 asked for “forgiveness” on behalf of his country for abandoning the Harkis and their families after independence.

The following year, a law was passed to recognise the state’s responsibility for the “indignity of the hosting and living conditions on its territory”, which caused “exclusion, suffering and lasting trauma”, and recognised the right to reparations for those who had lived in 89 of the internment camps.

But following a new report, 45 new sites – including military camps, slums and shacks – were added on Monday to that list of places the Harkis and their relatives were forced to live, the government said.

Now “up to 14,000 (more) people could receive compensation after transiting through one of these structures,” it said, signalling possible reparations for both the Harkis and their descendants.

Secretary of state Patricia Miralles said the decision hoped to “make amends for a new injustice, including in regions where until now the prejudices suffered by the Harkis living there were not recognised”.

Macron has spoken out on a number of France’s unresolved colonial legacies, including nuclear testing in Polynesia, its role in the Rwandan genocide and war crimes in Algeria.

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