{"title":"The earthquake casualties from Heraclea Sintica – buried under debris of the portico of the Roman forum","authors":"V. Russeva, L. Manoilova","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105338","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During excavations in the southwestern corner of the Roman forum of Heraclea Sintica, archaeologists investigated a massive layer of debris from an earthquake dated to the end of the fourth century CE. After removing the layer, they revealed two brick vaulted cisterns. The southern one had a partially collapsed vault, and in the ruins of the destroyed structure, the human skeletal remains of six individuals were discovered. Five of the skeletons (2N, 3N, 1S, 2S and 3S) were partially preserved in anatomical position on top of the debris from the brick vault, and skeleton 2N was the most intact. Only the lower half of skeletons 1S, 2S, and 3S survived. Their upper halves are missing, probably due to decomposition. Skeleton 1N was discovered on the uppermost position, in anatomical order over a layer of dirt and debris separating it from the other skeletons. The individual could have been standing on above-situated structure.</div><div>The discovery of the skeletal remains in a sealed archaeological deposit enables a hypothetical reconstruction of the order of events that led to the formation of the excavated structure as well as the final moments of these earthquake victims. Anthropological analysis revealed a number of traumas, some of which caused by the architectural collapse. Documented pathological changes attest to an individual with physical and mental impairments possibly due to a rare congenital disorder, i.e. Apert syndrome who had a place in Heraclea Sintica during the Roman period.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105338"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X25003712","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ARCHAEOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
During excavations in the southwestern corner of the Roman forum of Heraclea Sintica, archaeologists investigated a massive layer of debris from an earthquake dated to the end of the fourth century CE. After removing the layer, they revealed two brick vaulted cisterns. The southern one had a partially collapsed vault, and in the ruins of the destroyed structure, the human skeletal remains of six individuals were discovered. Five of the skeletons (2N, 3N, 1S, 2S and 3S) were partially preserved in anatomical position on top of the debris from the brick vault, and skeleton 2N was the most intact. Only the lower half of skeletons 1S, 2S, and 3S survived. Their upper halves are missing, probably due to decomposition. Skeleton 1N was discovered on the uppermost position, in anatomical order over a layer of dirt and debris separating it from the other skeletons. The individual could have been standing on above-situated structure.
The discovery of the skeletal remains in a sealed archaeological deposit enables a hypothetical reconstruction of the order of events that led to the formation of the excavated structure as well as the final moments of these earthquake victims. Anthropological analysis revealed a number of traumas, some of which caused by the architectural collapse. Documented pathological changes attest to an individual with physical and mental impairments possibly due to a rare congenital disorder, i.e. Apert syndrome who had a place in Heraclea Sintica during the Roman period.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports is aimed at archaeologists and scientists engaged with the application of scientific techniques and methodologies to all areas of archaeology. The journal focuses on the results of the application of scientific methods to archaeological problems and debates. It will provide a forum for reviews and scientific debate of issues in scientific archaeology and their impact in the wider subject. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports will publish papers of excellent archaeological science, with regional or wider interest. This will include case studies, reviews and short papers where an established scientific technique sheds light on archaeological questions and debates.