People reoccupied Pompeii after Vesuvius eruption, archaeologists find
Despite the massive destruction suffered by Pompeii, an ancient Roman city home to more than 20,000 people before the eruption, some survivors who could not afford to start a new life elsewhere are believed to have returned to live in the devastated area.
Archaeologists believe they were joined by others looking for a place to settle and hoping to find valuable items left in the rubble by Pompeii's previous residents.
'Judging by the archaeological data, it must have been an informal settlement where people lived in precarious conditions, without the infrastructure and services typical of a Roman city,' before the area was completely abandoned in the fifth century, the researchers said in a statement on Wednesday.
While some life returned to the upper floors of the old houses, the former ground floors were converted into cellars with ovens and mills.
'Thanks to the new excavations, the picture is now clearer: post-79 Pompeii reemerges, more than a city, a precarious and grey agglomeration, a kind of camp, a favela among the still recognisable ruins of the Pompeii that once was,' said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the site.
Evidence that the site was reoccupied had been detected in the past, but in the rush to access Pompeii's colourful frescoes and still-intact homes, 'the faint traces of the site's reoccupation were literally removed and often swept away without any documentation'.
'The momentous episode of the city's destruction in AD79 has monopolised the memory,' said Zuchtriegel.
Archaeologists estimate that 15-20% of Pompeii's population died in the eruption, mostly from thermal shock as a giant cloud of gases and ash covered the city.
Volcanic ash then buried the Roman city, perfectly preserving the homes, public buildings, objects and even the people who had lived there until its discovery in the late 16th century.
A Unesco world heritage site, Pompeii is Italy's second most-visited tourist spot after the Colosseum in Rome, with about 4.17 million visitors last year.
It covers a total area of approximately 22 hectares (54.4 acres), a third of which is still buried under ash.
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Rachel Roddy's recipe for sweet-and-sour aubergines with capers, pine nuts and mint
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The Guardian
4 hours ago
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People reoccupied Pompeii after Vesuvius eruption, archaeologists find
Archaeologists have discovered new evidence pointing to the reoccupation of Pompeii after the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius that left the city in ruins. Despite the massive destruction suffered by Pompeii, an ancient Roman city home to more than 20,000 people before the eruption, some survivors who could not afford to start a new life elsewhere are believed to have returned to live in the devastated area. Archaeologists believe they were joined by others looking for a place to settle and hoping to find valuable items left in the rubble by Pompeii's previous residents. 'Judging by the archaeological data, it must have been an informal settlement where people lived in precarious conditions, without the infrastructure and services typical of a Roman city,' before the area was completely abandoned in the fifth century, the researchers said in a statement on Wednesday. While some life returned to the upper floors of the old houses, the former ground floors were converted into cellars with ovens and mills. 'Thanks to the new excavations, the picture is now clearer: post-79 Pompeii re-emerges, more than a city, a precarious and grey agglomeration, a kind of camp, a favela among the still recognisable ruins of the Pompeii that once was,' said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the site. Evidence that the site was reoccupied had been detected in the past, but in the rush to access Pompeii's colourful frescoes and still-intact homes, 'the faint traces of the site's reoccupation were literally removed and often swept away without any documentation'. 'The momentous episode of the city's destruction in AD79 has monopolised the memory,' said Zuchtriegel. Archaeologists estimate that 15-20% of Pompeii's population died in the eruption, mostly from thermal shock as a giant cloud of gases and ash covered the city. Volcanic ash then buried the Roman city, perfectly preserving the homes, public buildings, objects and even the people who had lived there until its discovery in the late 16th century. A Unesco world heritage site, Pompeii is Italy's second most-visited tourist spot after the Colosseum in Rome, with about 4.17 million visitors last year. It covers a total area of approximately 22 hectares (54.4 acres), a third of which is still buried under ash.
BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
People returned to live in Pompeii's ruins, archaeologists says
New evidence suggests people returned to live among the ruins of Pompeii after the ancient Roman city was devastated by a volcanic believe some survivors who could not afford to start a new life elsewhere returned to the site and may have been joined by others looking for a place to settle. Pompeii was home to more than 20,000 people before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, burying - and preserving - much of the city, before its rediscovery in the 16th had been previous speculation that survivors had returned to the ruins, and archaeologists at the site said in a statement on Wednesday that the theory appears to have been confirmed by new research. "Thanks to the new excavations, the picture is now clearer: post-79 Pompeii reemerges, less as a city than as a precarious and grey agglomeration, a kind of camp, a favela among the still-recognisable ruins of the Pompeii that once was," the site's director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, archaeologists' said the informal settlement continued until the 5th century. The evidence suggests people lived without the infrastructure and services typical of a Roman city, and that the ruins provided the opportunity of finding valuable objects, the researchers said. People are thought to have lived in the upper floors of homes above the ash below, with the lower floors converted into cellars. The city's destruction has "monopolised the memory", Mr Zuchtriegel said, and in the rush to reach Pompeii's well-preserved artefacts, "The faint traces of the site's reoccupation were literally removed and often swept away without any documentation".The site is now a world-famous tourist attraction and offers a window into Roman life.
