Imagine the scene: first comes a scorching cloud of ashes, followed by a rapid cooling. This is how a part of the brain of one of the victims of Herculaneum during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD underwent glassification. The mystery of the unique case in the world of a human brain turning into glass was unraveled by the research group led by vulcanologist Guido Giordano from the University Roma Tre, and published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Also involved in the research were the University of Federico II in Naples, the Institute of Science, Technology, and Sustainability for the Development of Ceramic Materials of the National Research Council, and the Clausthal University of Technology in Germany.
Years ago, at the site of the Collegium Augustalium in Herculaneum, a strange discovery was made in the skull of one of the eruption victims – vitrified organic material, a phenomenon never seen before. It was the only known example of its kind in the world, and the mechanism behind this occurrence has remained a mystery until now.
“To understand the glassification process, we conducted experimental analyses by subjecting brain fragments to the temperatures at which they turned into glass using sophisticated equipment with varying heating and cooling cycles,” said Pier Paolo Petrone from the University of Federico II in Naples, one of the study’s authors.
These analyses helped reconstruct what happened on that fateful day in 79 AD when the first pyroclastic flows, gas clouds, and incandescent materials began to destroy Herculaneum. “The first of these – Giordano explained – reached the city with only its diluted ash cloud but extremely hot, well above 510 degrees Celsius. It left behind a few centimeters of very fine ash, but the thermal impact was terrible and deadly, albeit brief enough to leave the brain tissue still intact.” The cloud dissipated rapidly, allowing the remains to cool, and that rapid temperature change triggered the glassification process.
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