have been entombed in ash and now plaster for 1,900 years

Entombed in ash for more than 1,900 years, the tragic story behind this haunting image of what appears to be a child resting on its terrified mother's stomach is a step closer to being revealed.

Restorers are working on the carefully preserved plaster casts of 86 of the Romans trapped in Pompeii in 79 AD following the deadly eruption of Mount Vesuvius, including a child seemingly frozen in terror.

It is thought the boy was four, based on his size, and was sheltering in a location dubbed House of the Golden Bracelet with his family, when tragedy struck.

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This haunting image shows what appears to be a child resting on the stomach of an adult. It is estimated that anywhere between 10,000 and 25,000 residents of Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum were killed on the spot

Restorers are working on the carefully preserved plaster casts of 86 of the Romans trapped in Pompeii in 79 AD, including children seemingly frozen in terror. Here, Stefano Vanacore, director of the laboratory at Pompeii Archaeological Site can be seen carrying the remains of a petrified child in his arms

Experts at the site are readying the poignant remains for a forthcoming exhibition called Pompeii and Europe. It could be supposed that this victim was trapped in a building or terrified

The people’s poses reveal how they died, some trapped in buildings and others sheltering with family members

The boy (whose cast is pictured in the foreground) was discovered alongside an adult male and female, presumed to be his parents, as well as a younger child who appeared to be asleep on his mother's lap

He was discovered alongside an adult male and female, presumed to be his parents, as well as a younger child who appeared to be asleep on his mother's lap.

The little boy’s clothing is visible in the plaster cast, and his facial expression is one of peace, Decoded Past reported.

Stefania Giudice, a conservator from Naples national archaeological Museum, told journalist Natashas Sheldon: 'It can be very moving handling these remains when we apply the plaster.'

'Even though it happened 2,000 years ago, it could be a boy, a mother or a family. It’s human archaeology, not just archaeology.'

Mount Vesuvius unleashed its power in 79AD by spewing ash hundreds of feet into the air for 18 hours, which fell onto the doomed town, choking residents and covering buildings. Here, a researcher prepares to break a plaster cast to look at the human remains encased inside it

The perfectly-preserved settlement was discovered by accident in the 18th century, buried under 30ft (9 metres) of ash. Archaeologists were amazed to find human remains inside the voids. Plaster of Paris was poured inside to create casts of humans, and when this material is broken it reveals bones inside (shown)

A restorer works on a petrified victim of the eruption of Vesuvius volcano in 79 AD. Archaeologists have looked at new ways to preserve Pompeii’s victims without plaster

People were buried in the ash, which hardened to form a porous shell, meaning that the soft tissues of the bodies decayed, leaving the skeleton in a void

Reports claim two thousand people died in Pompeii alone, and the location was abandoned until it was rediscovered in 1748. The skull of one victim can be seen protruding from the top of this plaster cast

SCIENCE OF PRESERVING VICTIMS ENTOMBED IN ASH BY MOUNT VESUVIUS Archaeologists have looked at new ways to preserve Pompeii’s victims without plaster. In 1984, one skeleton was cast using resin, to create a durable cast allowing the victim’s hair and hairpin to be captured perfectly. But resin casting is difficult and expensive so it has only been used once. Plaster remains a good option for making casts, despite the technique being pioneered more than a century ago. It has to be mixed to a precise consistency - thick enough to support the skeleton, but thin enough to capture as many details possible. The mixture has to be carefully poured into the void in the ash through a narrow entrance to capture a person’s pose. Dr Giudice said: ‘The bones are very brittle so when we pour in the plaster we have to be very careful, otherwise we might damage the remains and they would be lost to us forever.’ Advertisement

Experts at the Pompeii Archaeological Site are readying the poignant remains for a forthcoming exhibition called Pompeii and Europe.

The people’s poses reveal how they died, some trapped in buildings and others sheltering with family members.

In one haunting image, Stefano Vanacore, director of the laboratory can be seen carrying the remains of the tiny child in his arms who was imprisoned in ash when the volcano erupted on 24 August.

Another plaster cast of an adult reveals he raised his hands above his head in a protective gesture, seemingly in a bid to stave off death.

Reports claim two thousand people died, and the location was abandoned until it was rediscovered in 1748

Many of the buildings, artefacts and skeletons were found intact under a layer of debris. It is now classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site and more than 2.5 million tourists visit each year

The majority of plaster casts were made in mid 19th century, meaning that some have degenerated and need repairing, offering experts a glimpse inside them

An insight into the painstaking restoration work going on can be seen from this picture of a petrified victim

Experts are working on the poignant remains for a forthcoming exhibition called Pompeii and Europe

Pompeii was a large Roman town in the Italian region of Campania.

Mount Vesuvius unleashed its power by spewing ash hundreds of feet into the air for 18 hours, which fell onto the doomed town, choking residents and covering buildings.

But the deadly disaster occurred the next morning, when the volcano’s cone collapsed, causing an avalanche of mud travelling at 100mph (160km/h) to flood Pompeii, destroying everything in its path and covering the town so that all but the tallest buildings were buried.

People were buried too in the ash, which hardened to form a porous shell, meaning that the soft tissues of the bodies decayed, leaving the skeleton in a void.

Reports claim two thousand people died, and the location was abandoned until it was rediscovered in 1748.

Perfectly-preserved teeth can be spotted in the mouth of this victim who appears to have been screaming when the ash covered them and they died. Their eye sockets have been filled with plaster

Pompeii was a large Roman town (marked) in the Italian region of Campania that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption from nearby volcano Mount Vesuvius in 79AD

Entombed in ash for more than 1,900 years, victims of the deadly eruption of Mount Vesuvius are a step closer to having more about their tragic story revealed as experts (pictured) work on their remains

The plaster cast technique means it is possible to see the anguished and pained expressions of men (pictured), women and children who all perished, as well as details such as hairstyles and clothes

Scanners are also used to determine the features and positions of the bodies beneath the casts (pictured). This is to prevent the restorers from accidentally damaging the remains

The perfectly-preserved settlement of Pompeii was discovered by accident in the 18th century, buried under 30ft (9metres) of ash

WHO WAS THE BOY OF THE HOUSE OF THE GOLDEN BRACELET? A child seemingly frozen in terror is among the people found sheltering in the House of the Golden Bracelet in Pompeii. It is thought the boy was four and was sheltering in the House of the Golden Bracelet with his family, when tragedy struck. He was discovered alongside an adult male and female, presumed to be his parents, as well as a younger child who appeared to be asleep on his mother's lap. The house was one of the more luxurious properties in the Roman seaside city. A garden room with three painted walls showing birds, foliage and a fountain was also found and was recently transported to the British Museum where it went on show. Advertisement

Many of the buildings, artefacts and skeletons were found intact under a layer of debris.

It is now classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site and more than 2.5 million tourists visit each year.

In November, French and Italian archaeologists excavating areas of the ancient town found raw clay vases that appear to have been dropped by Roman potters fleeing the disaster.

The perfectly-preserved settlement was discovered by accident in the 18th century, buried under 30ft (9metres) of ash.

Excavators were amazed to find human remains inside voids of the ash and soon worked out how to create casts of the people to capture a moment frozen in time.

Archaeologists poured plaster inside to capture the positions the people were in when they died, trapping their skeletons inside the plaster before removing the cast from the hole a couple of days later.

The technique means it’s possible to see the anguished and pained expressions of men, women and children who all perished as well as details such hairstyles and clothes.

People were buried in the ash, which hardened to form a porous shell, meaning that the soft tissues of the bodies decayed, leaving the skeleton in a void. Here, bones can be seen poking through the casts

Roman writer, Pliny the younger, described the panic during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Terrified Romans (illustrated) living in the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum saw ‘sheets of fire and leaping flames’ as they ran through dark streets carrying torches with pumice stone raining down upon them, he said

When the human remains were first found, archaeologists poured plaster inside to capture the positions the people were in when they died, trapping their skeletons inside the plaster before removing the cast

The majority of plaster casts were made in the mid 19th century, meaning that some have degenerated and need repairing, offering experts (pictured) a glimpse inside them

Archaeologists have looked at new ways to preserve Pompeii’s victims (pictured left and right) without plaster. In 1984, one skeleton was cast using resin, to create a durable cast allowing the victim’s hair and hairpin to be captured perfectly. But resin casting is difficult and expensive so it has only been used once

Creating casts is an exact science, because the plaster must be thin enough to show details of the person, but thick enough to support the remains, the BBC reported.

Approximately 1,150 bodies have been discovered so far, although a third of the city has yet to be excavated.

The majority of plaster casts were made in mid 19th century, meaning that some have degenerated and need repairing, offering experts a glimpse inside them.

In all, only around 100 of the voids have been captured in plaster, to reveal people’s poses as well as writhing pet dogs, for example.

It is estimated that anywhere between 10,000 and 25,000 residents of Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum were killed on the spot.

It is estimated that anywhere between 10,000 and 25,000 residents of Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum were killed on the spot following the deadly eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Massimo Osanna (pictured) is the director of the Pompeii archaeological site. It is one of Italy's most popular tourist attractions with more than 2.5million visitors each year

This victim looks as if they are praying, or holding their face in their hand - possibly out of fear. They could also be covering their face following an onslaught of ash

Approximately 1,150 bodies have been discovered so far, although a third of the city has yet to be excavated. Relatively few of the victims have been preserved in plaster