How Vesuvius Ash Turned a Man’s Brain to Glass: Unveiling the Surprising Impact of Volcanic Eruptions

Nearly 2,000 years after a young man’s life was cut short by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, an amazing discovery has been made: his brain was preserved and turned into glass. This happened when a hot cloud of ash enveloped him during the volcanic eruption that occurred in 79 AD near what is now Naples.

In 2020, researchers discovered small chunks of black glass inside the skull of this young man, who was about 20 years old when he died. Initially, they speculated that the glass represented a fossilized brain but were unsure how it formed. Now, scientists believe the ash cloud reached temperatures of around 510°C, which quickly cooled and transformed the brain into glass.

This is a unique case. It is the only known instance of human tissue naturally turning into glass. Professor Guido Giordano from Università Roma Tre, who studied this phenomenon, emphasized that such specific conditions are rare and may not happen again.

The young man’s remains were discovered in Herculaneum, a city that was almost entirely preserved by the volcanic material. During the eruption, Herculaneum and Pompeii—the nearby city—were buried under ash, and it’s believed that around 20,000 people lived in these areas at that time. Researchers have uncovered the remains of about 1,500 victims.

The sequence of the eruption likely led to this preservation. First, a cloud of hot ash descended, causing a majority of the deaths. Then, a fast-moving current of hot gases called a pyroclastic flow followed, burying everything in its path. The ground ash had just the right conditions to turn the brain into glass, while the pyroclastic flow likely didn’t get hot enough or cool down quickly enough to preserve other soft tissues.

For something to turn into glass, there needs to be a significant temperature difference between it and its surroundings. The brain was kept protected by the skull, which helped it retain some material necessary for this transformation. Because other areas of the body had no liquid left, they could not turn into glass.

The research findings were published in Scientific Reports, providing insights into this rare and fascinating occurrence of natural glass formation from organic material.

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