AI makes Pompeii victim’s final moments look shockingly real

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A soot-covered man runs down the street of a ruined city, a terrified look on his face as he holds a mortar (the one used with a pestle) over his head. Debris rains down from a dark, smoky sky, and the silhouette of a fire-topped mountain looms in the distance. It’s a terrible August day in 79 CE Pompeii. 

Today, the remains of the ancient Roman city are arguably the most immersive direct archaeological experience available in the world. Mount Vesuvius’ eruption blanketed Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum in ash and pumice (a porous volcanic glass), preserving the infamous tragedy and its victims in astounding detail. Visitors can stroll down the same sidewalks and step over the thresholds of the very shops that stood there almost 2,000 years ago. 

Now, however, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, in collaboration with the University of Padua, has taken the idea of reviving ancient history a step further—using artificial intelligence. Following the discovery of two victims just outside the city, the collaboration reconstructed one of the men’s last moments in the form of a highly cinematic video. 

Death beyond the gates 

Archaeologists uncovered the remains of two adult men outside of Porta Stabia, one of Pompeii’s major gates. While they died at different times, both were making their way toward the coast. The older of the two, who was likely in his 20s or 30s, died as Mount Vesuvius pummeled the area with rock fragments called lapilli. 

A few hours later, the younger man was likely killed by a highly destructive wave of material including volcanic gas, ash, and pumice called a pyroclastic flow. 

“The Porta Stabia area corresponds to one of the principal exits from the city and was connected to another road that, according to the most recent paleoenvironmental investigations, ran along a coastal lagoon around which there were a series of small ports, landing places, and piers,” Marcello Mogetta, associate professor of Roman art and archaeology at the University of Missouri who was not involved in the discovery, tells Popular Science. 

“It seems logical that the fleeing Pompeiians would try to move in this direction, and that victims would thus be found along the route.”   

Archaeologists found the older man with a ring on his left pinkie, 10 bronze coins, a ceramic lamp, and a terracotta mortar, the bowl used with a pestle to mash ingredients. The mortar bears evidence of fracture, and the theory is that the man would have used it to cover his head as he fled from the nightmarish destruction. 

The discovery of both victims is described in a study published in the archaeological park’s e-journal, but the finding of the man with the mortar represents a particularly moving historical coincidence. 

Pliny the Younger, a Roman author who witnessed Vesuvius’ infamous eruption, wrote that people tried to protect themselves with objects or pillows secured onto their heads with towels. His uncle and adoptive father, Pliny the Elder, died while attempting to rescue people affected by the eruption.

Bringing history back to life with AI

The older man with the mortar is the one who features in the historical reconstruction. For better or worse, there’s no arguing with the fact that the video is more engaging than simply imagining his desperate escape attempt, especially for people who aren’t naturally inclined to be interested in history and archaeology. 

In fact, the aim of the video, which is described as an experimental prototype, is to make the archaeologists’ findings more accessible to non-experts, according to a social media post by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. 

Basically, the team used artificial intelligence to process the data they collected from their excavation outside Porta Stabia. They then prompted the AI engine to generate a video based on that data, explains Jacopo Bonetto, a University of Padova archaeologist and co-author of the study who worked on the reconstruction. 

The advantage of the generative technology, he continues, is that it can process the data, generate the video, and incorporate feedback very quickly. As they say, time is money, and—simply put—shorter tasks cost less than longer ones. 

What’s more, he points out that, compared to computer graphic systems, AI can create significantly higher quality emotional photograph-like and video-like content.

Bonetto is quick to admit that there are also downsides associated with the use of AI in archaeology, however. In addition to the environmental toll associated with generative AI, the same speed and ease of use that made it a convenient tool for the team is also available to those who are not scientifically equipped to ground their AI generations in real data and create accurate content.

“The vastness of the archaeological data at Pompeii and beyond is now such that only with the help of artificial intelligence will we be able to adequately protect and showcase it,” Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director general of the archaeological park in Pompeii, said in the social media post. 

“And it is important that we archaeologists do this ourselves; because otherwise, others, who lack the necessary humanities and scientific grounding, will do it in our place.”

To use AI, or not to use AI

It would seem that the use of AI in archaeology, like in every other discipline, brings both game-changing benefits and worrying risks. The balance must be maintained by humans. For his part, Mogetta seems to approve of the archaeological park’s reconstruction.

“It represents a responsible use [of AI] based on an authoritative account of the findings by qualified archaeologists, with the stated aim of capturing the public’s imagination and interest through realistic (though not real!) animation, and conveying the same content addressed scientifically in the study in question, and via official channels,” he tells Popular Science.

It’s worth considering what the victim himself would think of this resurrection. Perhaps he’d be glad that his remains invoke the great Pliny the Younger, and appreciate the immortality enabled by this digital rebirth. Or perhaps he’d be horrified by the idea of people getting to witness, over and over again, what were presumably the worst moments of his life. 

Regardless, Pompeii stands among the strongest reminders that archaeologists are unearthing the past and its people, each of whom had hopes, dreams, and—particularly evident in this case—fears. 

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