Pompeii suffered a second, devastating disaster — while fighting for survival after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

We’re shook.

Earthquake activity as damaging as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius bears part of the blame for the total devastation of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in 79 A.D., new research suggests.

The significant seismic stirring — which align with recovered, descriptive writings of shaking ground by Roman upper echelon Pliny the Younger — “played a significant role in the destruction of Pompeii and, possibly, influenced the choices of the Pompeiians who faced an inevitable death,” said study author Dr. Domenico Sparice.

The surprising new findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science .

Earthquakes and volcano eruptions typically happen in tandem. Sometimes seismic activity can even trigger a ready-to-be-active volcano, according to the U.S. Geological Survey .

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“Correctly recognizing the cause-effect relationship is essential to reconstruct the interplay between volcanic and seismic phenomena, and their effects on buildings and humans,” said author Dr. Fabrizio Galadini.

Key elements were pointing towards earthquake impact around downed buildings within the Casa dei Pittori al Lavoro, where two skeletons had been found with fracture and trauma injuries.

“We found peculiar characteristics that were inconsistent with the effects of volcanic phenomena described in the volcanological literature devoted to Pompeii,” said author Dr. Mauro Di Vito of the site.

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“There had to be a different explanation.”

Vesuvius had been launching flying pumice of small rock and ash for an estimated 18 hours, causing residents to seek shelter from the smoldering rock. The study supports the idea that strong earthquakes were responsible for killing people who were barricaded from shooting skies.

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“The people who did not flee their shelters were possibly overwhelmed by earthquake-induced collapses of already overburdened buildings. This was the fate of the two individuals we recovered,” said author Dr Valeria Amoretti.

Both of the remains recently discovered were of two male skeletons, each about 50 years of age.

Their positions imply one man was crushed by a large section of the wall — while the other tried to save himself from being pulverized. Experts believe he used some sort of wooden object and sensed the danger of impact.

The recovery also strongly rules out the potential that they died from extreme heat or inhaling ash from the eruption in its so-called “first phase”.

“New insight into the destruction of Pompeii gets us very close to the experience of the people who lived here 2,000 years ago,” said author Dr. Gabriel Zuchtriegel.

“The choices they made as well as the dynamics of the events, which remain a focus of our research, decided over life and death in the last hours of the city’s existence.”

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