When Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24 in the year 79, Herculaneum had a population of about 5000 according to most historians. Since the entire city has not yet been excavated, that is a rough guess based on the size of the area where it sits and the size of the amphitheater.

Excavations turned up practically no bodies until 1982 when the waterfront area was excavated. Almost all of the skeletons found in the city were found in the boat houses, shown in this first photo. Others were found along the beach which would have been in the foreground.

If the volcano is erupting inland, I would run for the ocean and attempt to flee by boat. There is no way of telling how many people successfully did this, but we can determine how many people did not make it. We didn’t get to tour the boat houses but from internet searches, it appears that many of the skeletons are still there (note in the first photo that some of the boat houses have tarps over their entrance). One of the skeletons found on the beach included one that has been dubbed The Ring Lady. As can been seen in this photo, she had an emerald and a ruby ring on her fingers when she collapsed on the beach.

The “Ring Lady” of Herculaneum, a Roman woman around 45 years of age who died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. She was found surrounded by her gold jewelry and still wearing two gold rings on her left hand

In addition, she had a purse which contained two gold bracelets with serpentine heads that met as well as two gold earrings that probably held pearls. These were likely her prize possessions that she was attempting to take with her.

Here is a close-up of the rings. Examination of her body shows that she was a tall 45 year old woman in good health with good teeth but a bit of gum desease. She was likely knocked down by the pyroclastic blast and died immediately.