Archaeologists Uncover 4th-Century Earthquake Victims in Roman City of Heraclea Sintica!
Archaeologists in south-western Bulgaria have made a sobering discovery at the site of Heraclea Sintica, a once-thriving Roman city. Deep beneath the ruins of its forum, they uncovered the remains of six men who died in a catastrophic earthquake during the late 4th century CE. The find offers a rare and human perspective on the disaster that marked the beginning of the city’s decline.
Heraclea Sintica, first founded under Greek rule and later absorbed into the Roman Empire, flourished thanks to its position along the Struma River and the Kozhuh highlands. The forum, the city’s bustling civic hub, was lined with impressive public buildings and water cisterns. Then, late in the century, disaster struck. A powerful earthquake, part of a wider series of tremors across the eastern Mediterranean, destroyed much of the city, including two brick-vaulted cisterns.
Photo Credit: Russeva, V., & Manoilova, L., Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports (2025)
It was beneath the collapsed remains of one of these cisterns, around six metres down, that archaeologists found five of the men, lying on their backs among the rubble. A sixth body lay higher up, separated by layers of soil and debris, perhaps in a nearby structure or trying to help others when the vault gave way. All were aged between 18 and 35. Their injuries, crushed skulls, broken ribs and shattered long bones, suggest instant or near-instant death from falling debris or a fatal fall.
One of the victims, however, stood out. The man known as “2N” was between 18 and 25 years old and is believed to have suffered from Apert syndrome, a rare congenital condition causing a misshapen skull, cleft palate, and other skeletal deformities. In the Roman world, such disabilities would have made independent living extremely difficult, if not impossible. Yet this young man had survived into adulthood, a sign that he received long-term care and support from those around him.
Photo Credit: Russeva, V., & Manoilova, L., Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports (2025)
Intriguingly, another skull from the site, labelled “2_3N”, also displayed a cleft palate. Researchers suggest the two may have been related, a theory that could be confirmed with future DNA testing. If true, it would add a fascinating layer to our understanding of how families and communities cared for disabled members in antiquity.
No personal items, clothing, or tools were found with the bodies, leaving their occupations and social standing a mystery. The fact they were never buried hints that the cistern was never cleared, perhaps no-one knew they were trapped inside. Following the earthquake, Heraclea Sintica’s population dwindled, and another devastating tremor in the 5th century eventually brought the city to an end.
Mass disaster burials from the ancient world are rare, and those that survive often focus more on collapsed buildings than on the victims themselves. The remains at Heraclea Sintica allow archaeologists not only to piece together the moment the quake struck but also to glimpse the individual lives, and acts of compassion, that existed in this Roman city before the ground shook and history changed forever.