2 skeletons found in Pompeii ruins believed to be victims of earthquake before Vesuvius eruption

Archaeologists have discovered two more skeletons buried beneath a collapsed wall in the Pompeii archaeological site, experts said Tuesday. They believe the new findings are the remains of male victims likely killed in powerful earthquakes that accompanied the devastating volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which buried the Italian city in ash in the first century.

The two skeletons, believed to be men at least 55 years old, were found in the Casti Amanti, or House of Chaste Lovers — where colorful frescoes and the skeletons of mules who worked the millstones for grain have been uncovered in the past — beneath a wall that collapsed before the area was covered in volcanic material. The area was likely undergoing reconstruction work at the time of the eruption in A.D. 79, following an earthquake a few days earlier.

The newly discovered victims "probably died due to multiple traumas caused by the collapse of part of the building," the Pompeii archaeological park said in a statement.