Vesuvius Eruption Turned Man's Brain to Glass

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Vesuvius's deadly ash cloud heated a Roman man's brain to over 510°C, turning it into glass fragments that scientists discovered inside his skull.

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This brain vitrification is the only known case worldwide where human tissue naturally transformed into glass, making it a unique archaeological find.

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The victim, a young custodian around 20 years old, died while sleeping in his bed at Herculaneum's Collegium Augustalium during the 79 AD eruption.

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"The glass formed allowed for integral preservation of the biological brain material," explained forensic anthropologist Pier Paolo Petrone who found the fragments.

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Researchers used X-rays and electron microscopy to prove the black, obsidian-like shards were actually preserved brain tissue, not volcanic material.

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The discovery reveals that a super-heated ash cloud struck first, causing most deaths before the pyroclastic flow buried the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii.

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Professor Guido Giordano noted that the specific conditions needed for brain vitrification "make it very difficult for there to be other similar remains.

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The glass fragments, ranging from 1-2 centimeters to millimeters in size, survived because the skull provided just enough protection from complete thermal breakdown.

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