According to the BBC, a “sneaky” resident of Pompeii has met the same fate as the rest of the city when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago: a pregnant turtle.
Archaeologists discovered the remains of this reptile buried under ash and stone, beneath a heavily damaged shop where it has lain undisturbed since 79 AD.
The turtle fossilized upon excavation – (Image: POMPEII ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK)
This area had previously suffered numerous disasters; the ancient residents of the city had rebuilt the buildings in this neighborhood after an earlier earthquake devastated Pompeii in 62 AD.
The turtle has been described as surprising to scientists. It has a carapace length of about 14 cm. When the shell was lifted, a complete skeleton and a light brown eggshell were found beneath it.
Clearly, it was searching for a safe place to lay its eggs when it was suddenly and swiftly fossilized—much like most people and animals in Pompeii, who remain in the same positions they were in when they perished 2,000 years ago.
Mark Robinson, an archaeologist at the University of Oxford, who discovered the remains of another turtle at a nearby site in 2002, told the BBC that there are two possible explanations for how this reptile ended up there.
Eggshell fragments – (Image: POMPEII ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK)
“One is that it was a pet turtle that may have escaped and made its way to the ruins of the major earthquake. A more likely scenario is that it was a turtle from the nearby countryside that wandered into the ancient city,” he said.
“Pompeii was essentially submerged, and not all areas could be rebuilt after the earthquake. Flora and fauna from the surrounding countryside moved into the town.”
Experts believe this discovery demonstrates the richness of the natural ecosystem in Pompeii following the earthquake.
Archaeologists working at the site – (Image: POMPEII ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK)
The Director General of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, stated: “The entire city was a construction site, and it is clear that some spaces were so unused that wild animals could wander in, invade, and attempt to lay their eggs.”
Sadly, after efforts to restore the city, the residents of Pompeii faced a catastrophic “apocalypse” less than two decades later—a volcanic disaster that buried the entire city in an instant beneath hot ash.
