Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
A Vesuvius victim’s brain was turned into glass, marking the only known case of human vitrification in history.
Credit: Pier Paolo Petrone
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE unleashed superheated ash clouds, exposing victims to over 510°C temperatures.
Credit: Pier Paolo Petrone
A rapid heat surge melted the victim’s brain tissue, followed by a sudden cooling, preserving neural structures in glass.
This is the only known case where human tissue was vitrified, a process never before documented in archaeology or geology.
Scientists initially doubted the vitrification claim, but advanced analysis by Guido Giordano of Roma Tre University confirmed it.
Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), researchers found well-preserved neurons, axons, and brain tissue in glass form.
The brain’s vitrification was caused by a super-heated ash cloud from Vesuvius, which reached up to 555°C before cooling rapidly.
Credit: Pierpaolo Petrone
The rapid heating and cooling froze the brain’s fine structures in glass, making it the only such case in history.
This shocking discovery offers a rare glimpse into the devastating power of Vesuvius, and the extraordinary ways history is preserved.