After demonstrating in the 2020 paper that the glass-like substance found in the guardian’s brain was organic in origin and in fact was vitrified brain tissue, Dr. Pierpaolo Petrone and others ...

The Herculaneum resident, killed by the volcanic eruption in 79 CE, presents the only known vitrified brain on Earth. Now, researchers have a theory for how it happened. The 2020 discovery baffled ...

But after doing extensive testing on the black material, they were able to conclusively prove it was indeed vitrified tissue – the man's brain and parts of his spinal cord had turned into glass.

An image from a Scanning Electron Microprobe (SEM) shows what scientists say is a vitrified (turned to glass) brain fragment. Micrograph Courtesy Guido Giordano, Università Roma Tre.

Heat from the eruption in A.D. 79 was so intense that it vitrified the brain tissue of one unfortunate Herculaneum resident, a new study confirms. Listen to this article · 4:12 min Learn more.

Per the report, the brain vitrified at temperatures above 950°F (510°C), therefore establishing that an initial high-temperature ash cloud enveloped the man and liquified his brain before ...

But this particular victim's brain matter had been vitrified, i.e., fused into glass. Petrone et al. estimated that temperatures could have been as high as 520° Celsius ...

This is the only example of vitrified brain matter found to date at any archaeological site. The new study, led by Guido Giordano of Roma Tre University and published in Scientific Reports, ...

The extreme and rapid nature of Mount Vesuvius' pyroclastic flows vitrified the brain tissue of the unfortunate Roman soldier thousands of years ago. By Joel Day. 07:01, Mon, Mar 3, 2025.

However, the vitrified brain suggests that an earlier event, brief but extremely hot, played a key role in the death of the inhabitants. This ash cloud, though short-lived, was intense enough to cause ...

Once we know that vitrified brain tissue is a thing we can look out for, it's possible that we'll start finding more examples of this currently unique process, Mann said.