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Pompeii’s Bodies Are Plaster Filled With Empty Space

They look like bodies. They’re not. They’re the space people left behind.

Joseph Pickett's avatar
Joseph Pickett
Apr 22, 2026
∙ Paid

When people died in Pompeii, their bodies didn’t turn to stone.

They disappeared forever.

A body curled inward, knees drawn up. Not posed—this is how they died, trying to protect themselves as the ash …
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