Pompeii dig reveals ‘almost perfect’ remains of a master and his slave

As the saying goes we're all equal in death but not many of us get preserved for future generations to learn about our deaths , in that this master and his slave achieve equality.


The men were found in the remains of what is believed to have been a villa located on the outskirts of Pompeii , they are thought to have escaped the initial eruption but were killed the following day by the pyroclastic flow that engulfed the city , it's also believed they were preparing to escape the city as their bodies were discovered not far from a stable containing the remains of three harnessed horses which was unearthed in 2017.

Experts said the younger man, who was probably aged between 18 and 25, had several compressed vertebrae, which led them to believe that he was a manual labourer or slave. He is thought to have been wearing a pleated tunic, possibly made of wool.

The elder man, aged between 30 and 40, had a stronger bone structure, particularly around his chest area, and was also wearing a tunic. They were found lying in what would have been the corridor of the villa.

Park officials said that further digging over the coming months might reveal where the men were heading and determine the roles they played in the elegant villa.

It is the latest in a series of fascinating discoveries that excavations at Pompeii have yielded in recent years.
www.theguardian.com...

Picture of one of the harnessed horses from the previous dig.

Pompeii archaeological park head Massimo Osanna told Italian news agency ANSA that the villa belonged to a high-ranking military officer, perhaps a general, during ancient Roman times.

Osanna was quoted on Sunday as saying the remains of two or three other horses were also discovered.
phys.org...

Excavations at Pompeii started in 1748 and still in the 21st Century it yeilds interesting and thought provoking finds from the past , it's the Volcanic gift that just keeps on giving.

S&F.
Been to Pompeii twice. First time '75/'76 second time 2000. How much more had been excavated was phenomenal!

Rainbows
Jane

a reply to: gortex

i was there years ago. it's a fascinating place. a whole city. you can walk through the alleys and look inside the houses. it's a huge area. and you can see the bodies, there are also bodys of dogs and cats. it's a magical and at the same time shattering place. and unfortunately threatened by decay because there is no money to preserve it.

A reminder to heed all men may embrace power one day or another, but at the end of the day h@ll knoweth no fury like mother nature.

a reply to: gortex

We went to Naples specifically to visit Pompeii and Heracleum and munch on the best cannoli and sfogliatelle in the world. Thanks for a great thread

Did they vote for Biden?

Just kidding, it was an interesting story and I went on a Pompeii wiki binge after reading it. It's interesting to me that the slave just kind of lay down and died, he took that thermal shock like a man - and yet the photo suggests master was writhing and being generally hoity-toity to the bitter end.

a reply to: markymint

Writhing or fighting to survive?

I understand you want to think the worst of someone who had a slave, but the institution of slavery was different in Roman times. It ranged from human chattel to those who were highly skilled but not Roman. They would sell themselves into slavery to wealthy Romans in the idea that they would eventually either buy their freedom from their services or be freed by their masters. That freedom would get them Roman citizenship which was highly, highly valued throughout the world.

Even in slavery, such skilled slaves could still command great power and marry and be very wealthy, and after freedom they could rise high under the patronage of their former masters.

It was a very different system than the one we are taught about that was used in the European colonies. It is also the system that was referred to in the Biblical teachings of Christ.

Actually, although it looks like he was writhing in agony, he would have died pretty instantly.

The position many of these bodies formed was after the event and is a natural reaction the body forms under such heat.

I have been fortunate enough to have visited Pompeii on 2 occasions, it is an amazing archaeological site, and they have plenty of excavations left yet. They are beginning to scale down the excavations in order to allow future generations an opportunity to find new things.

Been there twice also in 81 and 2006. Very interesting to just walk the streets and the town is in such good shape you could imagine a Roman would emerge from a door way at any moment. Herculaneum nearby is even more interesting from an archaeological point of view especially the Villa of papyri.

If you go be sure to visit that site too.

en.wikipedia.org...

Excavations continue at Pompeii as fast as possible because geologists and volcanologist have noted mathematically another eruption WILL come and might possibly bury the site again.

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: gortex

We went to Naples specifically to visit Pompeii and Heracleum and munch on the best cannoli and sfogliatelle in the world. Thanks for a great thread

Can't put pleasure together in my head with looking over peoples mass grave and picture of dead babies and innocent animals.

originally posted by: SeaWorthy

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: gortex

We went to Naples specifically to visit Pompeii and Heracleum and munch on the best cannoli and sfogliatelle in the world. Thanks for a great thread

Can't put pleasure together in my head with looking over peoples mass grave and picture of dead babies and innocent animals.

It would be a sobering experience, but at the same time, why go to Italy and not experience everything the country has to offer -- including the fine foods.

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: SeaWorthy

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: gortex

We went to Naples specifically to visit Pompeii and Heracleum and munch on the best cannoli and sfogliatelle in the world. Thanks for a great thread

Can't put pleasure together in my head with looking over peoples mass grave and picture of dead babies and innocent animals.

It would be a sobering experience, but at the same time, why go to Italy and not experience everything the country has to offer -- including the fine foods.

I would stick to the fine foods myself.

A vacation ogling peoples loved ones devastated in horrific terror is not my idea of fun.

originally posted by: SeaWorthy

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: SeaWorthy

originally posted by: TheConstruKctionofLight
a reply to: gortex

We went to Naples specifically to visit Pompeii and Heracleum and munch on the best cannoli and sfogliatelle in the world. Thanks for a great thread

Can't put pleasure together in my head with looking over peoples mass grave and picture of dead babies and innocent animals.

It would be a sobering experience, but at the same time, why go to Italy and not experience everything the country has to offer -- including the fine foods.

I would stick to the fine foods myself.

A vacation ogling peoples loved ones devastated in horrific terror is not my idea of fun.

It’s archaeological, I don’t think anyone goes there to ogle over the casts of the poor souls who perished. It’s more the preservation of the buildings, the roads with chariot grooves, the paintings, the sculptures, the architect, the civilisation of it all.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

The fascination with Pompeii and Herculaneum would be in the history and what it reveals about the lives of the people who lived there. Yes, as morbid as it is, there is a lot those castes can tell us about how the people of those times lived, what their lives were like.

Someday, like it or not, they'll be doing it with our remains too.

It is impossible to immange so fast some were kneeling .
It brings a pause to the petty things we bicker about known any mint can be the last .

I hope when the day comes if there is a god I can stand on my feet and say I did my best .
We say Life is short a Billions years is a day in the never ending flow of time .

a reply to: SeaWorthy

hahahaha was talking about the culture of Naples. We brought our own water, and only purchased 1 soft drink. You don't want to know how much they slug for food on the sites.

a reply to: ketsuko

This gypsy Italian at a stall outside the ruins tried to pressure us into buying and then started muttering under her breath not realizing my wife was Italian; we walked 5 metres up and then went back and pretended to throw a curse back at her. She couldn't look us in the eye when my wife spoke Calabrian dialect at her.

a reply to: SeaWorthy

A vacation ogling peoples loved ones devastated in horrific terror is not my idea of fun.

Its history. No different then visiting the Egyptian pyramids.

I'll ask you 1 thing. If you visit a loved one in a cemetery do you put blinkers on and never look at another graves names whilst walking there?

a reply to: Hanslune

Excavations continue at Pompeii as fast as possible because geologists and volcanologist have noted mathematically another eruption WILL come and might possibly bury the site again.

You know whats funny, walking up Vesuvius and seeing steam rise from some areas, knowing that even a mini-eruption would have killed me.