A pair of skeletons found in the ruins of Pompeii have revealed that earthquakes compounded the catastrophic destruction of the ancient Roman city caused by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Many of those who survived the volcanic eruption in AD 79 were likely killed by the "strong earthquakes" that quickly followed, says the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science.
The new findings may help archaeologists better reconstruct the events that led to the sudden, catastrophic destruction of the city and its people.
"We have shown that seismic activity during the eruption played an important role in the destruction of Pompeii, and may have influenced the choices of the inhabitants of Pompeii who faced certain death," said volcanologist Domenico Sparris, who co-authored the study.
In the course of excavations in the ruins of the city, scientists found contradictions with traces of the volcanic eruption in some collapsed buildings that likely have a "different explanation."
When they found two severely fractured skeletons, both of men around 50 years old, the scientists decided to investigate further.
One person was crushed to death by a large section of the wall collapsing, and the other likely died of his injuries after trying to protect himself with a round wooden object, scientists said.
"People who did not flee their shelters may have been swept away by collapsed buildings already overburdened by the earthquake," said Valeria Amoretti, another author of the study.
Scientists said the two men did not die from ash inhalation or extreme heat, as previously thought.
Likewise, most of those who survived the first phase of the eruption were likely engulfed by walls collapsing due to earthquakes, the study said.
The scientists explained that these results make it plausible that a large number of people could survive by leaving the city, but it is a "hopeless" scenario.
They noted that there is still no "reliable estimate" of how many people died from the volcanic eruption or from damage caused by subsequent earthquakes.
“This new view of the destruction of Pompeii brings us very close to the experience of the people who lived here 2,000 years ago,” said Gabriele Zuchtriegel, co-author of the study.