How many people died in herculaneum

See horses found in Pompeii that were likely harnessed to try and flee the eruption. Archaeologists have found that the bodies of the victims here remained largely intact. In Herculaneum and the nearby site of Oplontis, something more disturbing took place. Researchers point to a dark, reddish residue found on the bones of several victims in Herculaneum.

Chemical analysis revealed it to be rich in irons and iron oxides, most likely originating from the blood and bodily fluids of the victims. In addition, many of the Pompeii victims were found in fully contorted poses, indicating that their muscles had contracted very quickly upon being exposed to high heat. Those in Herculaneum seemed to show muscle contraction in some limbs but not others.

According to the new study, this supports the idea that extreme heat could have destroyed certain muscles faster than they could contract. Jaskulska says that some independent forensic evidence supports the idea that red blood cell destruction can cause this sort of bone staining. This heat is comparable to what victims would have experienced in Herculaneum. This seems odd to her, considering that there are far more soft tissues to vaporize on legs than on arms.

Jaskulska also expected that if these tissues disappeared due to sudden heat, the damage to the bones would be much more intense than it appears. Even if heat-driven hemoglobin breakdown did occur, the pyroclastic surges might have caused the damage after the people had already died of asphyxiation or other causes.

Modern analogs may shed some light on the debate. Janine Krippner , a volcanologist at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, points out that pyroclastic flows and surges still happen today, and they are not always a guarantee of a quick, painless demise. The outcome depends on how fast, hot, ashy, and gassy the currents are, among other things. If it is diluted enough, you might even be able to survive the severe heat-related trauma.

There were also several tremours felt in the lead up to the eruption. But the locals simply took this in their stride, unaware that these were indications of the devastating event to come. The only positive thing to come from these quakes and tremors was that some buildings collapsed, forcing their residents to relocate in towns further from the volcano.

Estimates guess that 15, people were living in Pompeii around the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Within the ruins of Pompeii there were several human remains found, so we can only assume that these people chose to stay behind. The most probable reason for them to remain was that they were too poor, or they had nowhere else to go.

In Herculaneum, there were far fewer human remains found. At first, archaeologists believed that everyone had survived; however, further discoveries told a more tragic tale. Along one strip of land, in and around arched vaults, over skeletons were discovered. These vaults lined what would have been an ancient shoreline since the volcanic deposits pushed the coastline a few hundred metres into the sea. Crowded within each vault were around 40 skeletons.

First, the toxic gases that issued from the volcano would have suffocated many that were downwind, like the inhabitants of Pompeii. Second, falling rocks and other large debris caused houses to collapse, thereby crushing the residents.

And the thing about the fornici is, there is only one way in or out. Once that is covered with debris, what you end up with then is a little bit like an oven.

You've got people trapped in there, there's no air getting in and out, it's dark, it's full of dust and debris. Plus, these are stone structures, so they're heating up from the heat from the pyroclastic flow that's sitting on top," he explained. The findings were published online today Jan. Originally published on Live Science. Mindy Weisberger is a Live Science senior writer covering a general beat that includes climate change, paleontology, weird animal behavior, and space.

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