A man managed to escape the first eruptive fury of Vesuvius in 79 AD, only to be crushed beneath a block of stone hurled by an explosive volcanic cloud, new excavations at the site suggest.
Archaeologists working at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy, found the man's remains almost 2,000 years after he died.
Stunning pictures from the scene show a skeleton pinned beneath the stone.
The impact crushed the top of the man's body.
His head might still be buried beneath the block of stone.
The experts also found the remains of a leather pouch that contained coins ... which the man was carrying as he ran for his life.
The most likely scenario is that the 30-something man waded through pumice in a mad dash for safety before being overtaken by the pyroclastic surge which incinerated everything in its path.
It is impossible to say at this point whether the projectile crushed him as he ran, or if it impacted after he had collapsed on the street in the contortions of death.
Lesions on the skeleton's tibia are signs of a bone infection that probably hampered the man's escape attempt, archeologists said.
Nonetheless, the man, who was at least 30 years old, survived the first phase of the eruption and fled along an alley, probably limping because of his infection.
Recently, archaeologists found two POMPEII HORSES which had bits and bridles and were being readied for harness to make a frantic getaway when the fatal Vesuvius pyroclastic surges engulfed their Villa stables, incinerating them and their owners.
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