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The skeleton of a man and a woman were found in a small,
makeshift bedroom in a villa which was being restructured when
the eruption struck, the Pompeii archeological site said in a
statement.
The woman was lying on a bed with gold, silver and bronze coins
around her, along with jewelry including gold and pearl
earrings. The man lay at the foot of the bed.
The once-thriving city of Pompeii, near Naples, and the
surrounding countryside was submerged by volcanic ash when Mount
Vesuvius exploded in AD 79.
The eruption killed thousands of Romans who had no idea they
were living beneath one of Europe's biggest volcanoes which
buried the city in a thick layer of ash, preserving many of its
residents and buildings.
The latest victims discovered had chosen the small room as a
refuge, waiting for the end of the rain of rock fragments which
had blocked the door and prevented them from escaping.
They were eventually buried under the flow of lava and other
boiling hot material from the volcano, the statement said.
"The opportunity to analyze the invaluable anthropological data
on the two victims ... allows us to recover a considerable
amount of data on the daily life of ancient Pompeians", site
director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said.
Ancient Pompeii, rediscovered only in the 16th century, has in
recent years seen a burst of archaeological activity aimed at
halting decades of decay and neglect.
(editing by Gavin Jones and Angus MacSwan)
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