ANCIENT footprints of people who fled a fiery eruption of Mount Vesuvius 3,000 years ago have been unearthed by accident.
The markings had been made more than 1,000 years prior to the volcano's infamous 79 AD that destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Excavations conducted recently alongside construction work on a gas pipeline near Vesuvius revealed the footprints which had been buried for three millennia.
Boffins believe they show Bronze Age villagers desperately fleeing an eruption.
Their marks, which had been preserved in the volcanic rock deposits for thousands of years, were discovered along with countless priceless historical artefacts.
Archaeologists have been carrying out excavations over the past two years to help construct a gas pipeline in the area southeast of Naples.
Their project led to the uncovering of a range of historical treasures that date from between the Bronze Age (3300 BC to 1200 BC) and the Late Antiquity period (250 AD to 750 AD).
The most exciting discovery was that of a series of footprints beside a stream dating back thousands of years.
These marks were likely made as animals and people tried to flee an eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Researchers also discovered a range of historical treasures alongside the footprints, including miniature ceramics and pottery crafted by local inhabitants.
Boffins managed to reconstruct an ancient road system that ran through the region, identifying at least 40 streets ranging from simple dust paths to more complex constructions.
Several groups of burials were also identified, including ones covered in engraved stone slabs that mainly held the remains of children.
Mount Vesuvius famously erupted in 79 AD, blanketing the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash.
It was revealed last year that victims of the eruption had died when extreme heat caused their blood to boil and their heads to explode, according to an expert.
Researchers said some of the victims who died were trapped in oven-like chambers where the temperature reached as high as 500C.
The active volcano near Naples, Italy is famous for destroying several cities including Pompeii, spilling molten for two days and launching ash, gas, and rocks for almost 21 miles.
Residents of cities Oplontis, Pompeii, and Herculaneum who did not evacuate in time met grisly deaths.
Research published in posited the theory that some of the victims died when their blood boiled and their heads exploded.
Some 300 people took shelter in 12 waterfront chambers in the city of Herculaneum as the volcano grumbled and spewed death.
All who huddled in the chambers died, their bodies trapped inside for thousands of years before they were discovered by excavators.
Their bodies were uncovered in the 1980s - preserved in lifelike poses.
In the report, the researchers studied the skeletal remains of some of the victims who hid in the shelters and found a mysterious black and red residue covering the bones inside their skulls.
Several tests found that the residue contained traces of iron and iron oxides - created when blood vaporises - which "strongly suggests a widespread pattern of heat-induced haemorrhage, intracranial pressure increase and bursting".
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