Pompeii was famously buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, killing several thousands.
Ever since the 18th century, excavations have been removing volcanic rock to uncover the secrets of the former ancient city, just south of the volcano.
However, researchers say a less famous settlement further north, called Somma Vesuviana, was also smothered by ash and debris during the event.
They’ve uncovered the remains of an ‘extravagant’ villa there, which they think is where Rome’s first emperor Augustus died in AD 14 – 65 years before the catastrophic eruption.
The villa contains huge elaborate pillars, ancient pots known as amphora that likely held wine and even a statue of Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility.
The villa at Somma Vesuviana, southern Italy. An archaeologist stands next to a pillar, showing the magnitude of the ancient dwelling
A famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 famously buried the ancient city of Pompeii – but researchers say Somma Vesuviana to the north was also affected. What’s more, an excavated villa in Somma Vesuviana is thought to have been where Emperor Augustus died in AD 14 – so 65 years before the eruption
A project to excavate the villa in Somma Vesuviana is being conducted by a group of archaeologists led by researchers from the University of Tokyo.
Contemporary writings by the Roman historians Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio tell us that Augustus died in AD 14 at his family’s villa near Nola – a town just north of Somma Vesuviana.
Although the precise location of his resting place isn’t known to be documented, the researchers think this villa is a strong contender.
‘Our site is probably the only one, or one of only the very few, possibilities that we have,’ Mariko Muramatsu, University of Tokyo archeologist, told Live Science.
Generally, excavations of sites buried by eruptions of Mount Vesuvius have focused on Pompeii, which is south of the volcano.
Meanwhile, Somma Vesuviana to the north has not been paid as much attention.
‘Excavations around Mount Vesuvius have been ongoing since the 18th century,’ said Kohei Sugiyama, an archaeologist at the Institute for Advanced Global Studies at the University of Tokyo.
‘Most exploration related to that are focused on regions to the south of the volcano as that is where the majority of ejecta fell, and damage was suffered.’
Researchers say ejection volcanic material in the villa (pictured) dates to AD 79 – the year of Mount Vesuvius’ most famous eruption
Pots buried under ash and other pyroclastic materials of the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius give clues about the levels of volcanic damage to the villa
A face from history: A statue of the god Dionysus as it’s painstakingly chipped away from and brushed free of millennia of built-up volcanic deposits
READ MORE: Vesuvius victim had his brain turned into GLASS
Heat created by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD was so intense, the event transformed one victim’s brains into glass
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Previously, it had been thought that the Somma Vesuviana area was only buried during a later, less famous eruption by Mount Vesuvius – in AD 472 – and not by the AD 79 eruption.
However, Sugiyama and colleagues now contend this, thanks to the results from analysis of volcanic rock that buried the villa, which dates from AD 79.
‘Using radiocarbon dating, and with help from volcanologists to perform extra analysis, we determined that these newly discovered sections are buried under volcanic material from the AD 79 eruption,’ Sugiyama said.
The Somma Vesuviana villa was actually beneath a more recent, but still ancient building, likely built sometime in the 2nd century AD.
The researchers think that after the earlier villa was destroyed in AD 79, this later villa was built on top of it, but was likely covered by the fifth century eruption.
Further excavations could confirm whether the earliest villa is indeed where Augustus spent his last living moments.
It may also have been where Augustus’ father died, according to Dr Andrew Sillett, a classics lecturer at the University of Oxford, who is not involved with the project.
Augustus was the first Roman emperor and led the transformation from republic to empire after his great-uncle and adoptive father Julius Caesar was murdered. Pictured, a bust of Augustus as a younger Octavian, dated c. 30 BC in Capitoline Museums, Rome
‘We can cross our fingers that the University of Tokyo’s efforts will be rewarded with the evidence that has so far eluded archaeologists – suggesting that this was, in fact, the very villa in which the emperor Augustus (and before him his father) breathed his last,’ Dr Sillett said.
‘Further excavation of this villa will provide also historians with even more invaluable insights into life on the Bay of Naples in the early years of the Roman Empire.’
Augustus was the first Roman emperor and led the transformation from republic to empire after his great-uncle and adoptive father Julius Caesar was murdered.
He was born in 63 BC with the name Octavius and adopted by Caesar in 44 BC.
However, before coming into power in 26 BC the Roman Senate gave him the name Augustus, meaning exalted one, and he reigned for 40 years before dying of natural causes in 14 AD at the age of 75.
His reported last words were to his subjects: ‘I found Rome of clay; I leave it to you of marble,’ but to the friends who had stayed with him in his rise to power he added, ‘Have I played the part well? Then applaud me as I exit.’
How Pompeii and Herculaneum were wiped off the map by devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago
What happened?
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow.
Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano in continental Europe and is thought to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
Every single resident died instantly when the southern Italian town was hit by a 500°C pyroclastic hot surge.
Pyroclastic flows are a dense collection of hot gas and volcanic materials that flow down the side of an erupting volcano at high speed.
They are more dangerous than lava because they travel faster, at speeds of around 450mph (700 km/h), and at temperatures of 1,000°C.
An administrator and poet called Pliny the younger watched the disaster unfold from a distance.
Letters describing what he saw were found in the 16th century.
His writing suggests that the eruption caught the residents of Pompeii unaware.
Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year AD 79, burying the cities of Pompeii, Oplontis, and Stabiae under ashes and rock fragments, and the city of Herculaneum under a mudflow
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.
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.
The Orto dei fuggiaschi (The garden of the Fugitives) shows the 13 bodies of victims who were buried by the ashes as they attempted to flee Pompeii during the 79 AD eruption of the Vesuvius volcano
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.
What have they found?
This event ended the life of the cities but at the same time preserved them until rediscovery by archaeologists nearly 1700 years later.
The excavation of Pompeii, the industrial hub of the region and Herculaneum, a small beach resort, has given unparalleled insight into Roman life.
Archaeologists are continually uncovering more from the ash-covered city.
In May archaeologists uncovered an alleyway of grand houses, with balconies left mostly intact and still in their original hues.
A plaster cast of a dog, from the House of Orpheus, Pompeii, AD 79. Around 30,000 people are believed to have died in the chaos, with bodies still being discovered to this day
Some of the balconies even had amphorae – the conical-shaped terra cotta vases that were used to hold wine and oil in ancient Roman times.
The discovery has been hailed as a ‘complete novelty’ – and the Italian Culture Ministry hopes they can be restored and opened to the public.
Upper stores have seldom been found among the ruins of the ancient town, which was destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius volcano and buried under up to six meters of ash and volcanic rubble.
Around 30,000 people are believed to have died in the chaos, with bodies still being discovered to this day.
