A VITRIFIED brain fragment from a victim of the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.—AFP
A VITRIFIED brain fragment from a victim of the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.—AFP

IT looks like a piece of rock — black, shiny and unexceptional. But Italian anthropologists say the fragment is actually part of an exploded brain from an unfortunate victim of the volcanic eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius in AD79. The gory discovery — published on Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine — is a rarity in archaeology, and researchers called the find from the ruins of Herculaneum near Pompeii “sensational”.

Scholars who for years have studied the grisly remains of those trapped by ash, lava and toxic gasses when the volcano erupted in southern Italy were intrigued by a curious glassy material found inside one victim’s skull. “In October 2018, I was able to look at these remnants and I saw that something was shimmery in the shattered skull,” said Pier Paolo Petrone, one of the researchers. Petrone, a forensic anthropologist from the University of Naples Federico II, said he was “pretty sure this material was human brain”. Further analysis by Piero Pucci from the CEINGE advanced biotech centre in Naples confirmed that it did indeed contain bits of proteins and fatty acids from hair and brain tissue.

Herculaneum, named after the Greek god Hercules, was a popular resort town for the rich northwest of Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted. The molten lava covered the city and everything in it 50 feet deep, later solidifying and preserving organic remains. The man at the centre of the discovery is believed to have been the custodian of the College of the Augustales, centre of the cult of Emperor Augustus. His charred body was discovered in the 1960s inside his quarters, laid out on his wooden bed.

Researchers believe the heat rose to 520 degrees Celsius from the hot gasses from the eruption — temperatures high enough to make body fat ignite and vaporise soft tissues.

A rapid drop in temperature ensued, a poorly understood phenomenon that nevertheless helped vitrify human remains. “The high heat was literally able to burn the victim’s fat and body tissues, causing the brain to vitrify,” the archaeological site of Herculaneum said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.