A victim of the Mount Vesuvius volcanic eruption, whose remains long puzzled archaeologists, may have been a doctor at the ancient city of Pompeii, a new study reveals.
The ancient Roman city, destroyed and buried under ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD, remains one of the most iconic archaeological sites in the world.
Within 24 hours after the volcanic eruption, most of the ancient city’s residents died from asphyxiation caused by toxic ash inhalation and thermal shock.
Now, researchers have found that the artefact one man clung onto in his last moments was an ancient “medical kit”.
In a new study, archaeologists found a small case hidden among the remains of 13 people, who died while taking shelter in a vineyard in the ancient city, later called the “Garden of the Fugitives”.
The case was found to contain a small drawer made of organic material with metallic elements, a fabric bag with bronze and silver coins, and instruments compatible with a medical set, researchers part of recent excavations say.
It also had a slate slab, used in ancient times for the preparation of medical or cosmetic substances, and small metal instruments that may have been surgical tools, they say.
Based on the new discovery, scientists strongly suspect the victim was a medicus, the Latin word for doctor, providing rare insights into the last hours of life during the eruption of 79AD.
“This man brought his tools with him to be ready to rebuild a life elsewhere, thanks to his profession, but perhaps also to help others,” said Pompeii archaeologist Gabriel Zuchtriegel.
“We dedicate this small but significant discovery to all the women and men who today continue to carry out this profession with a very high sense of responsibility and service to the community,” said Dr Zuchtriegel.
Researchers could analyse the content of the cast without compromising its integrity using advanced diagnostic techniques like CT X-ray scans supported by artificial intelligence.
“Already two thousand years ago, there were those who did not do it, limited to reception hours, but simply were, at all times, even at the moment of escape from the eruption, nullified by the pyroclastic cloud that caught the group of fugitives who tried to leave the city,” Dr Zuchtriegel said.
The findings open up new perspectives to study ancient remains, researchers say.
They also highlight the importance of Pompeii as a living archive of ancient stories still waiting to be reconstructed.