Swedish archeologists have discovered a Stone Age settlement covered in ash under the ruins of the ancient city of Pompei (Italy), indicating that the volcano Vesuvius engulfed the area in lava more than 3,500 years before the famous 79 AD eruption.
     The archeologists recently found burnt wood and grains of emmer wheat in the earth under Pompei, said Anne-Marie Leander Touati, a professor of archeology at Stockholm University who led the team. "Carbon dating shows that the finds are from prehistoric times, that is, from 3,500 years BCE," Leander Touati said. It was until now believed that Pompei was first inhabited during the Bronze Age.
     The group of archeologists - part of a larger international project - were mapping a Roman neighbourhood of Pompei when they made the discovery. "It was a real fluke," Leander Touati said, explaining that the group was emptying a well to determine its use when it made the find. "We realized that the well was a lot deeper than we thought, and we sent a guy down into the well. He moved some of the earth and suddenly he was in prehistoric times," she said.
     The Stone Age remains were covered in a thick layer of ash. On top of that a a layer of ceramic shards was found, which according to Leander Touati could be from the Bronze Age. Additional geological layers lay on top of that, and on top of it all were the ruins of Pompei. Pompei was covered in lava when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. The excellently preserved ruins have become one of the world's most visited archaeological sites. Leander Touati said her group was now planning the next step. "We're going down there again," she said.

Source: The Local (16 April 2005)