Newly discovered Pompeiian vases show panic over Mt. Vesuvius' eruption

Newly discovered Pompeiian vases show panic over Mt. Vesuvius' eruption
(Image credit: N. Meluziis shot / French School of Rome)

Archaeologists have discovered 10 clay vases from a pottery workshop in Pompeii. The vases, found under a layer of ash from Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 C.E., were apparently "just ready to be fired," according to Discovery News.

The vases reveal "a frozen-in-time picture of the exact moment panicked potters realized they were facing an impending catastrophe," Discovery News reports. They dropped the vases when they saw smoke in the air and began running for their lives. "They abandoned the workshop and everything they were doing at that moment," Laetitia Cavassa, the dig's director, told Discovery News.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.