When Mount Vesuvius unleashed its fury in A.D. 79, Herculaneum was just one of several towns smothered by ash and savaged by superheated volcanic avalanches. But three centuries after excavations began, experts are still unsure as to what precisely killed the victims of this once bustling metropolis.

Along with collapsing buildings, flying debris, and stampedes of fleeing residents, various studies have blamed the inhalation of ash and volcanic gases, a sudden heat shock, and even the vaporization of people’s soft tissues.

Now, two studies add a couple twists to the tale.

One concludes that those taking cover in the town’s boathouses were not really burned or vaporized, but instead baked as if inside a stone oven. The second has found a