Archeologists Unearth Crushed Skeleton Of Pompeii Eruption Victim

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(CBSMiami) -- Officials at the Pompeii archaeological site have announced a dramatic new discovery, the skeleton of a man crushed by an enormous stone while trying to flee the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

Pompeii officials on Tuesday released a photograph showing the skeleton protruding from beneath a large block of stone that may have been a door jamb that had been "violently thrown by the volcanic cloud".

Footage from Ansa news agency also showed the skeleton partly embedded in the stone.

The victim, who was over 30, had his thorax crushed.

Archaeologists have not found the victim's head.

Officials said the man suffered an infection of the tibia, which may have caused walking difficulties, impeding his escape.

The archaeological site's general director, Massimo Osanna, called it "an exceptional find", that contributes to a better "picture of the history and civilisation of the age".

This latest extraordinary discovery was found in a new area of excavations, known as the Regio V, and is included in the "Grande Progetto Pompei", a part of a large project initiated in Pompei on 2012.