The human brain turns into glass when a volcano erupts near Naples

Scientists discovered fragmented glass fragments in the human skull caused by heat of 520 degrees Celsius in a volcanic disaster in Europe in AD79.

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79 (AD stands for Anno Domini, Latin is the year of our Lord, meaning the number of years since Jesus Christ was born), damage occurred in the nearby towns. That was catastrophic. It seems that the intense heat has turned a victim's brain into glass.

Experts say they have discovered fragments of a shiny, black material found inside the victim's skull at Herculaneum that appears to be the remains of human brain tissue altered by heat.

Frozen brain fragments.(Photo: Dr. Pier Paolo Petrone / New England Journal of Medicine).

They say the finding is remarkable because brain tissue is rarely fully preserved due to decomposition and it often turns into soap where it is found.

"Until now, the vitrified brain has never been found , " said Professor Pier Paolo Petrone, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Naples Federico II and a co-author of the study.

Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Petrone and colleagues revealed that the glass brain belonged to a man about 25 years old found in the 1960s lying face down on a wooden bed under a pile of volcanic ash. - a pose that suggests he is fast asleep when disaster strikes the town.

Archaeological Herculaneum in Ercolano, near Napoli.(Photo: AFP / Getty).

Petrone said recently that when he focused his research on human remains found at the university, he noticed black patches in his skull.

"I noticed something shining inside my head. This material is stored in the victim's skull, so it has to be the rest of the brain," he told Guardian.

"The discovery of the glass material from the victim's head, the expression proteins in the human brain and the fatty acids in human hair indicate the thermal conservation of vitrified human brain tissue," the team wrote.

Vesuvius is the only active volcano in continental Europe.(Photo: Getty).

Analysis of the burnt wood at the site showed that it experienced temperatures up to 520 degrees Celsius during the disaster. This suggests that extreme heat can burn body fat and evaporate soft tissue, which then drops rapidly.

Mr. Petrone said that the findings highlight that the only way to survive an eruption like AD79's is to run away because even when hiding in buildings, people will die instantly due to the heat. high.

Plaster models of the volcanic eruption victims Vesuvius, destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii in 1979. (Image: Reuters)

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