Most were suffocated by smoke or roasted in the hot ash. Now it looks like some of those people died quicker than anyone thought possible. Researchers studied the remains of bodies that were found in chambers along the waterfront of Herculaneum. It's thought some people went into those chambers before the main eruption for shelter. Curiously, the remains found in the chambers are preserved in natural, relaxed poses, suggesting they died without ever knowing what hit them.
Archeologists suggest the eruption created a super-hot shockwave.
The heat and pressure would have killed the people in the chambers instantly by causing their internal organs to shut down and boiling their brains, before they even realized what was happening.