After a long restoration, plaster casts of 86 people who died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius almost 2.000 years ago will be displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples in an exhibition called "Pompeii and Europe".
After more than 1.900 years, the buried bodies of victims in Pompeii will see the light of day.
"Despite the fact that this tragedy happened so long ago, it is still equally moving to handle the remains of the deceased. The destinies of people are at stake, not only archaeology," said Stefanija Đudiće, conservator of the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
The famous ancient city was located in the south of the Apennine peninsula, southeast of today's Naples in Italy. The city was completely destroyed in the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano on August 24, 79 AD. After spewing ash into the air for 18 hours, it was covered by hot lava, destroying everything in its path.
The site was abandoned until its rediscovery in 1748, when excavations began - many buildings, artifacts and skeletons were found under the ruins in an intact state. In the meantime, the hardened ash deposits formed a porous membrane in which the soft tissues of the body rotted, while the skeletons remained preserved.
Thanks to a special method and plaster casts, scientists managed to "capture" the bodies in the position in which the persons died, before they were pulled to the surface. This technique allowed them to see the facial expressions of the deceased, as well as many other details, such as clothes, hairstyles... It is interesting that even the bodies of dead animals were preserved. About 1.150 skeletons have been found so far, although a third of the city is yet to be excavated.
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