Out of the ashes, ghostly horse of Pompeii

IT died in terror, alongside thousands of human inhabitants of Pompeii.

Now archaeologists have discovered the first complete ‘remains’ of a horse in the Roman town lost in the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago.

The find, described by experts as extraordinary, shows the creature lying on its side in what is believed to have been a stable in Civita Giuliana, a northern suburb of Pompeii.

The team estimate the animal would have been larger than average and was likely to have been a show horse. Traces of an iron and bronze harness suggest it was specially bred and of considerable value.

The discovery is actually a ghostly imprint, like so many of the archaeological finds at the Italian site.

Bodies left a hollow space in the compressed ash and pumice from the volcano. Archaeologists inject plaster into the space to recreate the fallen forms.

Experts were alerted to the discovery in a large Roman villa by grave robbers who had been excavating illegally in search of artefacts. The tomb raiders had dug a network of tunnels which officials later used to plot a professional excavation of the villa and its outbuildings which turned up jars, kitchen utensils, part of a wooden bed and a tomb, the Pompeii Archaeological Park said in a statement.

Animals have been found at Pompeii and neighbouring sites before, including the remains of dogs and pigs. But this was the first full cast of a horse to be discovered.