New Delhi: Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in Southern Italy has erupted many times. However, its most famous or infamous eruption took place in 79 AD, and overall, the eruption is one of the deadliest in history. The eruption was so gargantuan that several Roman towns and settlements in the area were destroyed. The most examples of its destructions are the total obliteration of the two cities, Pompeii and Herculaneum. Those two places were buried under massive pyroclastic surges and ashfall deposits.
In later years, archaeological excavations found much of the towns and the lives of the inhabitants which made the area Vesuvius National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the total death toll caused by the eruption remains unknown, we do know that more than 20,000 people lived in those cities and the remains of more than 1,500 people have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Man’s brain turned to glass: How?
During the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the brain of a man turned into glass. Researchers discovered in the man’s skull dark fragments resembling obsidian in Herculaneum. In the 1960s, the remains of the man, preserved in excellent condition like most other things at that time due to the volcanic ash, was first discovered inside a building called the College of the Augustales. The building was dedicated to the cult of Emperor Augustus and the man was probably a custodian of the building.
According to a new research published in the journal Scientific Reports, this is the “only such occurrence” in the known history of Earth. As per the research, it was caused by a super-hot ash cloud that suddenly descended on Herculaneum, killing all its inhabitants. Due to vitrification, the process of transforming a substance into glass, the glass was formed as the organic material of the brain was exposed to the incredibly high temperatures before cooling down rapidly. Studies of charcoal fragments found near the man’s remains at Herculaneum support this new theory about the glass brain.
Over the years, there has been claims from some scientists about whether the glassy material found in the brain of the man was ever brain tissue. However, the new study has reinforced the claim of other scientists that the material in the man’s brain in indeed glass and presents microscopic analysis showing the remains of brain cells and other brain structures within the glassy material.
The 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius devastated Pompeii and Herculaneum. A recent study reveals a unique discovery: A human brain, vitrified into glass by the intense heat of a pyroclastic surge. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
