Archaeologists may have discovered a person’s brain that was turned into glass by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in Italy during 79 CE. They believe this unique dark-colored organic glass likely formed when they were killed by a very hot, but short-lived, ash cloud.
For this to be possible, its liquid form must cool fast enough to not crystalize when becoming solid, and the substance must do so at a temperature well above that of its surroundings. In other words, it is extremely difficult for an organic glass to form, as ambient temperatures are rarely low enough for water — a key component of organic matter — to solidify.
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Guido Giordano and colleagues analyzed fragments of glass sampled from inside the skull and spinal cord of a deceased individual from Herculaneum, found lying in their bed in the Collegium Augustalium. The results of the analysis — which included imaging using X-rays and electron microscopy — indicated that, for the brain to become glass, it must have been heated above at least 510 degrees Celsius before cooling rapidly,” said the researchers.
