In pictures, exceptional discovery of a 2000-year-old turtle and its egg in Pompeii


New treasures have been unearthed in Pompeii. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a tortoise in one of the main streets of the ancient Roman city destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD. Amazing fact: an egg nestled under the reptile’s 14 centimeter shell. This female of testudo hermanni -Hermann’s tortoise-, was found in debris caused by an earthquake in 62 AD. J.-C, explained the rapporteur of the archaeological mission in a press release published on Friday.

Archaeologists suspect that the tortoise, a common species in southern Europe, had taken refuge in the rubble of a house too damaged by the earthquake to be rebuilt. Pompeii Archaeological Park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said the fact the animal still had her egg suggested she died before she found a safe and hospitable place to lay it. History and the volcanic ash of Vesuvius then froze the animal until its recent discovery by scientists. “It allows us to see Pompeii in this phase after the earthquake but before the eruption, when many houses were being rebuilt, the whole city was under construction, and obviously some spaces were so unused that wild animals could wander, come in and try to lay their eggs,” he said.

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It is not the first time that turtles have been found in Pompeii, but they have generally been unearthed in gardens or inside rich domus, such as the house of Giulio Polybius. “The turtle adds a piece to this mosaic of relationships between culture and nature, community and environment that represent the history of ancient Pompeii,” said Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini.

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To read : Mummy with hair discovered in Pompeii

The excavations, carried out by the Free University of Berlin, the University of Naples – L’Orientale, with the University of Oxford in collaboration with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, aim to study the urban development of this ancient residential area before the construction of the thermal baths. “The ongoing excavation campaign in Pompeii continues to bring important discoveries and new finds, confirming the extraordinary richness of this authentic treasure of history and memory which fascinates the whole world”, continued the minister.



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