A new theory just dropped about the Vesuvius eruption and the victims.
**- Porta Nola Necropolis -** The Atropos research team from the University of Valencia, Spain, did a super detailed analysis of the plaster casts of 14 eruption victims found in the Pompeii Porta Nola Necropolis back in 1975.
**- Plaster Casts of Eruption Victims -** The weave marks of the clothes they were wearing are still visible on these plaster casts, which lets us figure out the style, type, and thickness of their outfits at the time.
It turns out that victims found **both indoors and outdoors** were all wearing double layers of wool tunics or thick wool cloaks. At least four casts showed weaving characteristics similar to thick, high-density yarn winter clothes.
This raises a huge question mark, because based on records left by **Pliny the Younger** and various other sources, the Vesuvius eruption has traditionally been dated to late August, 79 AD.
Considering the climate of Pompeii, those clothes are way too thick for late August. So, a few theories have popped up.
The first theory is that the Vesuvius eruption actually happened later—between September and November—not August. Scholars have already debated this point for a while.
1. Food and fruits found around Pompeii mostly consisted of autumn harvests (pomegranates, chestnuts, dates) rather than summer fruits.
**- Dolia: Clay jars used in the Roman era for storage/fermentation of wine, olive oil, and grains -** 2. Large *dolia* storage vessels, which were typically used after the grape harvest was finished, were found sealed. The grape harvest usually took place around September or October.
**- Braziers found in Pompeii with burn marks -** 3. The discovery of used braziers in inhabited houses suggests the weather was cool. (Side note: This brazier theory isn't about them lighting fires suddenly because of the eruption, but that the weather was already chilly enough for people to have pulled out and used their braziers when Vesuvius blew up.)
**- Plaster Casts of Vesuvius Victims -** The second theory is that those thick woven clothes weren't for the cold, but were put on quickly as emergency protection against the eruption. It's possible residents grabbed relatively thick, dense clothing and layered it up fast, figuring it would be better at blocking volcanic ash, heat, and toxic gases.
What’s cool about the Atropos team’s research is that they aren't just looking at records left in literature or historical documents.
**- Plaster Cast of Victim #54, found in 1976 -** It’s super meaningful that they reconstructed the disaster scenario using direct evidence and info gathered right from the victims themselves. It shows that there's still room to interpret this event from various perspectives. (FYI: This is a new hypothesis and research finding about the Vesuvius eruption; it doesn't definitively nail down the date.) Source: https://archaeologymag.com/2025/12/pompeii-victims-wearing-thick-wool-in-august/
"The consensus is that the traditional August date feels sketch given the thick coats and autumn fruit, leading to deep dives into Pliny's manuscripts. But yeah, volcanoes are still terrifying AF."
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