Archaeologists have unearthed the skeleton of a young Roman man who apparently died of suffocation while hiding in a large clay storage jar during an attack on the ancient city of Deultum in present-day Bulgaria.
The discovery was made on August 10 by a team from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, who believe the man was attempting to escape invaders around 1,600 years ago, likely during raids by Germanic groups or Huns on the Roman Empire.
Professor Lyudmil Vagalinski of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences stated that the man was found crouched inside a 'pitos,' a large jar used for storing food, wine, or oil. He was clutching an iron knife in his right hand and had a second, smaller knife on a ring, though researchers noted he did not appear to be a warrior.
"He was clutching an iron knife in his right hand, and he also had a second, smaller one, hung from a ring, but he was not a warrior," Vagalinski said.
Evidence suggests the city was under attack, with fires set by the invaders. The tower where the jar was located was filling with smoke, and the man likely succumbed to smoke inhalation or lack of oxygen. The tower was subsequently destroyed and covered by a new floor, leaving the jar undiscovered for centuries.
"There are traces of a strong fire, probably caused by an enemy attack, Deultum was attacked repeatedly in the 4th-6th centuries," Vagalinski explained. "He made no attempts to get out, he probably suffocated in the fire."
Deultum, founded by Emperor Vespasian around 70 AD as a colony for retired soldiers, was once a prosperous town in the Roman province of Thrace. By the late 4th century, however, the city had shrunk and was more heavily fortified due to increasing threats along the Roman frontier.
The team found ash, charcoal, blackened walls, melted glass, coins, and burned animal bones around the jar, indicating the fire had already started when the man sought refuge. The jar itself, with a base about three feet wide, was a common storage container and not typically used as a burial vessel.
After the attack, survivors likely treated the flattened tower, including the hidden jar, as rubble when building a replacement structure on the same site. The remains, along with the belt remnants and bones, were found in a crouched position, indicating a desperate attempt to hide rather than a standard burial.
"The man found refuge in the pitos, crouched there with his knees pressed to his chin and his face facing downwards," Vagalinski said. "He was clutching an iron knife in his right hand."
Anthropological analysis is expected to provide further details about the individual. The discovery offers a rare and grim insight into the final moments of an individual caught in the conflict and eventual decline of the Roman Empire.