The 2,000-year-old creature intact and stunned in the petrified city

According to the BBC, one "illegal" resident of Pompeii suffered the same fate as the rest of the city when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago: a pregnant turtle.

Archaeologists have found the reptile's remains buried under ashes and rocks, beneath a heavily damaged storefront where it has been lying since 79 AD.

The turtle was petrified when it was just excavated

It's a disaster-stricken area, with the city's ancient inhabitants rebuilding its buildings when an earlier earthquake devastated Pompeii in AD 62.

The turtle was described as a surprise to scientists. It has a carapace length of about 14 cm. When the shell is lifted, underneath is a skeleton and an egg with a light brown shell.

Apparently it was looking for a peaceful place to lay its eggs, then suddenly, quickly petrified, just like most people and animals in Pompeii - perhaps 2,000 years later still in the same position they were in. unfinished while alive.

Archaeologist Mark Robinson of the University of Oxford - UK, who discovered the remains of another tortoise at a site near Pompeii in 2002, told the BBC that there are two explanations for the reptile's existence. How did you get there?

Pieces of the egg

"One is that it was a pet tortoise that may have escaped and made its way to the ruins of a major earthquake. A more likely possibility is that a turtle from the nearby countryside roamed around. into the ancient city," he said.

"Pompeii was basically wrecked and not everywhere could be rebuilt after the earthquake. The flora and fauna from the surrounding countryside have moved into the town."

Experts say the find demonstrates the richness of natural ecosystems in Pompeii in the post-earthquake period.

Archaeologists working at the site

Pompeii Archaeological Park's general manager Gabriel Zuchtriegel said: "The whole city is a construction site, and it's clear that some spaces are so underutilized that wildlife can roam. , infiltrate and attempt to lay their eggs".

Unfortunately, after efforts to restore the city, the inhabitants of Pompeii still suffered a more catastrophic "doomsday" less than two decades later - a volcanic disaster that left the entire city buried for a split second by ash. hot dust.