Vesuvius ancient eruption rescuer identified at Herculaneum, says expert

Archaeologists in Italy believe they have identified the body of a rescuer killed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius almost 2,000 years ago. The skeleton, originally thought to be an ordinary soldier, was among some 300 found at Herculaneum in the 1980s. The man's remains were found face-down in the sand at the site to the north of Pompeii around 40 years ago. A boat was found nearby and it is now thought that the 300 other skeletons found massed on the beach were close to being rescued. Francesco Sirano, the director of the archaeological site at Herculaneum, said the items discovered with the skeleton no. Pliny the Elder was a Roman naval commander stationed at the port of Misenum, further up the coast from Herculaneum. His death during the eruption of Vesuvius was recorded by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, in two letters written to the historian Tacitus.