Ancient Roman’s brain that turned to glass finally explained
Scientists have revealed new details of how the eruption of Mount Vesuvius 2,000 years ago turned the brain of an ancient Roman into glass.
They have unveiled a detailed reconstruction of how the eruption of the volcano in 79 AD spewed ash and debris over the coastal town of Herculaneum, a few miles along the Mediterranean coast from better-known Pompeii.
The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, offers grisly new findings into how searing temperatures vitrified the grey matter of one Herculaneum resident.
Vitrification is the process by which a substance is heated at very high temperatures until it liquifies and then cools rapidly, turning it into glass.
The scientists believe that, immediately after the eruption of Vesuvius, Herculaneum was struck by a cloud of smothering ash and gases that reached temperatures of at least 550 degrees Celsius.
This early surge, known as a pyroclastic density current, would have killed everyone in its path. The ash cloud would have then cooled as it swept over the cold water of the Bay of Naples.
This rapid cooling caused the vitrification of the brain tissue.
His remains were discovered in the 1960s inside the Collegium Augustalium, a building that was dedicated to the cult of the Emperor Augustus, who ruled from 63 BC to AD 14.
The discovery of the vitrified brain was “a unique finding”, especially as it was preserved in its original archaeological context, the research team said.
‘Charred bones, cracked teeth’
They found that the transformation of soft brain tissue into glass was enabled by two factors.
Firstly, the fact that the initial blast of red-hot volcanic ash was short-lived, which meant the tissue was not vaporised.
And secondly, the fact that it was followed by a phase of “very rapid cooling” that resulted in the vitrification.
“The heat-induced effects suffered by the victims, notably the explosion and charring of skulls, vaporisation of brains, cracked and charred bones, cracked teeth, contraction of limbs and thermal degradation of blood haemoproteins indicate the occurrence of an early extremely high thermal event higher than the previously estimated temperature of about 500 degrees Celsius,” the scientists said.
The experts, from Roma Tre University in Rome and the Federico II University of Naples, based their findings on the study of carbonised wood from trees, shrubs, buildings and furniture that were burnt in the eruption.
Archaeologists continue to make new discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum, 2,000 years after the towns were devastated by the eruption of Vesuvius.
In December 2021, they found the skeleton of a Roman man who had tried to flee the eruption.
He was still clutching the remains of a wooden chest holding his most treasured possessions, including a ring made of bronze or iron.
By analysing pieces of timber that were found near his body, archaeologists were able to work out that his flesh had been vaporised by temperatures of more than 500 degrees Celsius.
“The skeleton remained because to disintegrate bone you need to reach temperatures of around 1,000 centigrade (Celsius),” Pier Paolo Petrone, an anthropologist and archaeologist involved in the study, told The Telegraph at the time.
