A man’s brain was partly turned into glass after Mount Vesuvius erupted.
Researchers discovered dark fragments resembling obsidian in the skull of a man in the ancient settlement of Herculaneum.
Along with Pompeii, the ancient settlement was obliterated in 79AD when the volcano erupted, killing thousands and burying both under a thick layer of volcanic material and mud – preserving them in excellent condition for future archaeologists.
The man was first discovered in the 1960s inside a building called the College of the Augustales, which was dedicated to the cult of Emperor Augustus.
He is thought to have been the college’s custodian and was killed in his bed, around midnight when he was assumed to be asleep, in the first effects of the eruption as the burning hot ash cloud hit.
The city was buried in the latter stages of the geological event.
But after his remains were re-examined more recently, the glass fragments were discovered.
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In a paper published on Thursday, researchers said this was the “only such occurrence” of this happening on Earth.
It was caused by a super-hot ash cloud that is thought to have suddenly descended on his city, likely instantly killing the inhabitants.
The glass was formed by vitrification, the process of transforming a substance into glass, when the brain’s organic material was exposed to the incredibly high temperatures – at least 510C (950F) – before rapidly cooling.
“The glass formed as a result of this process allowed for an integral preservation of the biological brain material and its microstructures,” said forensic anthropologist Pier Paolo Petrone of Universita di Napoli Federico II, one of the study’s lead researchers.
He added: “The only other type of organic glass we have evidence of is that produced in some rare cases of vitrification of wood, sporadic cases of which have been found at Herculaneum and Pompeii.
“However, in no other case in the world have vitrified organic human or animal remains ever been found.”
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Mr Petrone continued: “I was in the room where the college’s custodian was lying in his bed to document his charred bones.
“Under the lamp, I suddenly saw small glassy remains glittering in the volcanic ash that filled the skull.
“Taking one of these fragments, it had a black appearance and shiny surfaces quite similar to obsidian, a natural glass of volcanic origin – black and shiny, whose formation is due to the very rapid cooling of the lava.
“But, unlike obsidian, the glassy remains were extremely brittle and easy to crumble.”
