The secret is revealed
The remains were discovered in the ancient ancient Roman city in the early 1980s. At that time, archaeologists believed that this man was an ordinary soldier of the ancient city destroyed in the historic disaster that destroyed the ancient city of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
However, a recent excavation at the site has yielded a part of the Roman soldier's armor along with a shoulder bag filled with small wooden tools. The newly excavated artifacts show that the Roman soldiers may have played a more important role.
"He could be an officer of the team involved in the rescue mission launched by Pliny the Elder to help people in towns and villas in this area of the Naples Bay," said Francesco Sirano, director of the archaeological site. Pliny the Elder was a Roman historical figure who was also the commander of the Navy and army of the ancient Roman army.
The remains of the Roman soldier, known as the squad No. 26, were found in the ashes after the volcano's outbreak. The soldier's face fell into the sand and his arms were bent forward as if he was helping, ANSA reported.
The remains of the soldier were found along the coast, along with a nearby boat. There are 300 collective remains near the boat that are believed to be rescued by people in the historic volcanic explosion.
elite Roman soldiers
Archaeologists found a leather belt decorated with gold and silver along with a sword made of an elephant's net surrounding this soldier. The Roman soldier also had a hooked knife tied to one of his belts.
Notably, besides the remains, there are also coins scattered everywhere, including 12 silver denarri and 2 gold coins.
Experts say the amount is equivalent to the monthly salary of a soldier in an elite unit of the Imperial Academy of fell fell. These soldiers served as Imperial guards and intelligence for the army.
"The skeleton is the main character of this story" - archaeologists shared.
"A Navy soldier came to rescue the desperate residents of Herculaneum who were crammed for hundreds of hours on the beach and inside the arched structures or containers often used to place nets and fishing equipment," archaeologists added. And in the end, the soldiers could not overcome it, dying in the brutal Asphalt from Vesuvius Volcano.
The archaeological team analyzed the bones, the results showed that this man was between the ages of 40 and 45, with good physical health.
Sirano believes that the Roman soldiers were stationed in the Gulf of Naples at that time because there is historical data showing the presence of the pretorians in the first century AD. And this soldier lived right after Vesuvius volcano broke out and was one of 2,000 people killed in the historic disaster.
The Vesuvius volcanic explosion in 79 AD was one of the worst volcanic explosions in European history. The horror tragedy caused widespread devastation around the Gulf of Naples, and especially in the ancient city of Pompeii and the neighboring Heraculaneum. The outbreak buried an area of up to 19km in volcanic ash in just a few hours. The flow of hot, frosty rice and gas from the volcano into Herculaneum is believed to have reached a speed of at least 80 km/h.
