‘Brain vitrification’: new research shows how the Vesuvius eruption turned a man’s brain to glass

A fragment of vitrified brain found at Herculaneum. Guido Giordano et al. / Scientific Reports

A young man killed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE was likely overcome by a fast-moving cloud of gas at a temperature of more than 500°C in a process that transformed fragments of his brain into glass, according to new research.

The man’s remains were discovered in 1961, and in 2020 researchers confirmed that parts of his brain had been turned into glass. This is the only example of vitrified brain matter found to date at any archaeological site.