Researchers say a skull in an Italian museum may have belonged to historian and naval commander Pliny the Elder, who died during the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 after leading evacuation efforts.
The Italian city of Pompeii was wiped out when the devastating volcanic eruption struck, and it’s thought that thousands of people lost their lives.
Researchers plan to use isotope analysis to find out where the skull came from, and whether or not it belonged to Pliny the Elder.
Researchers say that a skull (pictured) on display at the Museum of the History of the Art of Medicine in Rome may have belonged to historian and naval commander Pliny the Elder, who died during the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 after leading evacuation efforts
An account of Pliny the Elder’s death, written by Pliny’s nephew Pliny the Younger, was sent to Roman senator and historian Tacitus at the time.
During the eruption at Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, historian and naval commander Pliny the Elder commanded the Roman fleet and was stationed across the Bay of Naples, launching ships and sailing towards the erupting volcano for closer observation and to attempt a rescue.
But no rescue was possible – Pliny himself died during the eruption while on the beach, likely suffocating due to toxic gases from the eruption.
After a 1900 excavation of Pompeii, the remains of 70 people were found – including one which stood out from the rest – with bracelets, a gold necklace and rings.
WHO WAS PLINY THE ELDER?
During the eruption Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, historian and naval commander Pliny the Elder commanded the Roman fleet and was stationed across the Bay of Naples, launching ships and sailing towards the erupting volcano for closer observation and to attempt a rescue.
But no rescue was possible – Pliny himself died during the eruption while on the beach.
An account of Pliny the Elders death, written by Pliny’s nephew Pliny the Younger, was sent to Roman senator and historian Tacitus at the time.
Historian and naval commander Pliny the Elder attempted to rescue people from the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Pliny the Elder received a letter from Rectina, a friend who lived in Pompeii, who was alarmed about the threat she faced, as her villa lay at the foot of Mount Vesuvius – so there was no way to escape except for at sea.
Pliny the Elder ordered a fleet to sea, not only to save Rectina but also to rescue others in tows along the coast.
As Pliny sailed closer to the volcano, the cinders began falling into the ships, together with pumice-stones, and black piece of burning rock.
Strong winds helped push the ships to the town of Pomponianus, and once the crew arrived, Pliny put them at ease by assuring them that the flames they could see from Mount Vesuvius came from villages that had been abandoned.
While Pliny was sleeping that night, his apartment became filled with stones and ashes, and his crew woke him up and went to Pomponianus.
They ventured into open fields, with pillows and napkins tied to their heads, defending themselves against the stones that fell around them.
The crew went back to the shore to see if they could safely travel back out to sea, but the waves were running high and rough.
There, Pliny lay down on a sail-cloth and called for cold water.
He tried to get up with the help of two servants, but he fell down dead, which Pliny the Younger believes was due to suffocation from a poisonous gas.
Three days later, Pliny the Elders’ body was found intact, without any marks, ‘looking more like a man asleep than dead,’ wrote Pliny the Younger.
According to International Business Times, Gennaro Matrone, an Italian engineer who led the excavation, said that the remains belonged to Pliny the Elder.
However, archaeologists such as Giuseppe Cosenza argued that a Roman admiral would never have been so heavily decorated with jewelry.
The skull of this figure is on display at the Museum of the History of the Art of Medicine in Rome, and bow, the Italian newspaper La Stampa has brought the skull and to the attention of University of Camerino anthropologist Dr Isolina Marota.
Dr Marota and her team plan to use stable isotope analysis to identify where the skull originated from, and a historian named Flavio Russo who wrote a book on Pliny’s mission, is crowdfunding to raise money for the tests.
Dr Marota and her team plan to use stable isotope analysis to identify where the skull originated from, and a historian named Flavio Russo who wrote a book on Pliny’s mission, is crowdfunding to raise money for the tests
Dr Marota previously worked on the remains of the Ice Age hunter called Ötzi, for which she also used stable isotope analysis to successfully find out about the origins of Ötzi.
Aside from the stable isotope method, Dr Marota also suggests measuring the shape of the skull’s jaw and head to compare to sculptures of Pliny the Elder made at the time.
The AD 79 eruption at Mount Vesuvius lasted for around 24 hours, and an avalanche of hot ash, rock and poisonous gas rushed down the side of the volcano at 124mph (199kph), burying victims and remnants of everyday life.
Hundreds of refugees sheltering in the vaulted arcades at the seaside in Herculaneum, clutching their jewelry and money, were killed instantly.
As people fled Pompeii or hid in their homes, their bodies were covered by blankets of the surge.
According to Pliny the Younger’s account, when his mother told Pliny the Elder to look at the ash cloud from the volcano, he decided to look further into it.
Pliny the Elder ordered a light vessel to be got ready, and asked his nephew if he wanted to accompany him, but the Younger declined because he had an assignment to complete.
Pliny the Elder received a letter from Rectina, a friend who lived in Pompeii, who was alarmed about the threat she faced, as her villa lay at the foot of Mount Vesuvius – so there was no way to escape except for at sea.
The Italian city of Pompeii was wiped out when the devastating volcanic eruption struck, and it’s thought that thousands of people lost their lives. Pictures is a ruined facade in Pompeii
Pliny the Elder ordered a fleet to sea, not only to save Rectina but also to rescue others in tows along the coast.
As Pliny sailed closer to the volcano, the cinders began falling into the ships, together with pumice-stones, and black piece of burning rock.
Strong winds helped push the ships to the town of Pomponianus, and once the crew arrived, Pliny put them at ease by assuring them that the flames they could see from Mount Vesuvius came from villages that had been abandoned.
While Pliny was sleeping that night, his apartment became filled with stones and ashes, and his crew woke him up and went to Pomponianus.
The restored version of John Martin’s painting The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, painted in 1822, damaged in 1928, restored in 2011
Visitors look at a mummy in Pompeii, the famous city next to Naples which was destroyed in AD 79 by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius
They went into open fields, with pillows and napkins tied to their heads, defending themselves against the stones that fell around them.
The crew went back to the shore to see if they could safely travel back out to sea, but the waves were running high and rough.
There, Pliny lay down on a sail-cloth and called for cold water.
He tried to get up with the help of two servants, but he fell down dead, which Pliny the Younger believes was due to suffocation from a poisonous gas.
Three days later, Pliny the Elders’ body was found intact, without any marks, ‘looking more like a man asleep than dead,’ wrote Pliny the Younger.
THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII, AS SEEN FROM A DISTANCE
An administrator and poet called Pliny the Younger watched the disaster unfold from a distance.
Meanwhile, his uncle, Pliny the Elder, led a fleet to help run evacuation efforts.
Letters between Pliny the Younger and Roman senator and historian Tacitus, describing what the Younger saw, were found in the 16th century.
This picture, taken on November 9, 2012 through the protective glass of The garden of the Fugitives in Pompeii, shows 13 bodies of victims who were buried by the ashes as they attempted to flee Pompeii during the AD eruption of the Vesuvius volcano
His writing suggests that the eruption caught the residents of Pompeii unawares.
He said that a column of smoke ‘like an umbrella pine’ rose from the volcano and made the towns around it as black as night.
People ran for their lives with torches, screaming and some wept as rain of ash and pumice fell for several hours.
While the eruption lasted for around 24 hours, the first pyroclastic surges began at midnight, causing the volcano’s column to collapse.
The city was wiped out when the devastating natural disaster struck in the year 79 AD, and it’s thought that thousands of people lost their lives
An avalanche of hot ash, rock and poisonous gas rushed down the side of the volcano at 124mph (199kph), burying victims and remnants of everyday life.
Hundreds of refugees sheltering in the vaulted arcades at the seaside in Herculaneum, clutching their jewellery and money, were killed instantly.
As people fled Pompeii or hid in their homes, their bodies were covered by blankets of the surge.
While Pliny did not estimate how many people died, the event was said to be ‘exceptional’ and the number of deaths is thought to exceed 10,000.