Pompeii: The Mystery of the People Frozen in Time

In AD79 tens of thousands of people in Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum died when Mount Vesuvius erupted. For decades it was believed the victims of Pompeii suffocated as they were buried by the fall of ash and pumice spewing from the volcano. But now science has painted a different picture of the catastrophe and why it claimed so many lives. This series examines the causes of death, the volcanic phenomenon known as a pyroclastic current, and uses state of the art x-ray technology to help reconstruct two of the victims - the Anonymous Man of Pompeii, and Herculaneum's Bella Donna. (official distributor synopsis)