Decapitated Pompeii victim was carrying £450 in loose change
Treasure trove of silver and bronze coins discovered in a leather pouch buried underneath headless body
AN UNFORTUNATE citizen of Pompeii who was decapitated by a giant slab of stone as he tried to flee the erupting Mount Vesuvius was carrying a “treasure trove” of silver and bronze coins when he died, archeologists say.
The man, partially buried beneath the 660lb (300kg) rock, was found this week, in a “dramatic and exceptional discovery”.
Archeologists believe the man, in his 30s, was attempting to flee the eruption in AD79 but was impeded by an infection in his leg bone.
Experts excavating beneath his skeleton found the remains of a leather pouch he had been carrying when a stone door jamb, dislodged by the force of the volcanic eruption, tumbled from above and beheaded him.
The pouch he carried contained 22 silver and bronze coins, which together were worth 80 sestertii, equivalent to around £450 in today’s money. That would have been enough to sustain a family of three for at least a fortnight, experts have estimated.
The man may have been a merchant desperate to save a portion of his family’s wealth as he tried to flee the burning hot cloud of ash that descended on the city after the volcano erupted. Archeologists also found a key that may have come from the man’s home.
“He wasn’t filthy rich but neither was he poor,” said Massimo Osanna, the director of the archeological site south of Naples.
The find came to light as archeologists dug beneath the skeleton in an effort to remove it so it could be taken to a laboratory for analysis.
The coins and the decomposed remains of the leather pouch will also be analysed.
Some coins dated back to the 2nd century BC, while others were more recent and bore the likenesses of the emperors Augustus and Vespasian.
In Rome, meanwhile, archeologists made another unusual discovery: an underground tomb, with skeletons and offerings to the gods that date back to the 4th century BC. Apart from a small amount of subsidence, the tomb is intact and remains as it was when it was sealed more than 2,000 years ago.
Archeologists described the find, which was made on the outskirts of the capital during digging for cables by an electricity company, as “extraordinary”.
They have nicknamed the underground cavern “the Tomb of the Athlete” after discovering a pair of iron strigils – instruments with a curved blade that Roman and Greek athletes often used for scraping off sweat and dirt after their workouts.
“The tomb discovered in Rome is … virtually intact and dates back to the Republican era,” said Francesco Prosperetti, a senior heritage official.
“We’ve called it the Tomb of the Athlete because of the two strigils which were used to scrape off sweat and animal fat after physical exercise.”
Alongside the skeletons, archeologists found ceramic plates and bowls and the remains of food offered to the gods, including the bones of rabbits, chickens, lambs and goats.
They also recovered a 4th century BC bronze coin decorated with the helmeted head of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom.
One of the men was aged around 50 while the other was aged 30-39.
Finding a tomb that is intact is rare, as many discovered in the past are either damaged by subsidence or robbed of their artefacts.