The discovery was made in the 1960s, when experts studied Herculaneum, a city buried by ash during a volcanic eruption in Disc.
The victim, who was believed to be devoted to the worship of Emperor Gustos, was found lying face down on a wooden bed in the building, according to investigators, he was about 25 years old at the time of his death.
Pierre Paolo Petron, forensic anthropologist at the University of Naples Federico II, who led the research, told CNN that the project began in 2018 when he saw “some glass material from inside the skull” while working near a skeleton.
Speaking about the process, Petron said: “The brain must first be exposed to hot volcanic ash, and then the volcanic ash quickly cools and turns into a glassy material.”
After subsequent analysis, including the use of an electron microscope, the team found cells in the vitrified brain that were “surprisingly preserved by a resolution that is impossible to find anywhere else,” according to Patron.
Researchers also found intact nerve cells in the spinal cord, which were vitrified like the brain.
The latest findings were published in the American journal Plus One.
Guido Giordano, a volcanologist at Roma Tre University working on the study, told CNN that the burning wood found next to the skeleton could lead researchers to conclude that the site had reached a temperature of 500 degrees Celsius (932 degrees Fahrenheit) after the eruption. .
Referring to the latest findings, Giordano said the “perfection of maintenance” found in the vitrification was “absolutely unprecedented” and a boon for researchers.
“This opens the door to the study of these ancient peoples which is never possible.”
A team of researchers – archaeologists, biologists, forensic scientists, neurogenetics and mathematicians from Naples, Milan and Rome – will continue to study the remains.
They want to learn more about the vitrification process – including specific people who have been exposed to temperature, as well as the cooling rate of volcanic ash – and hope to analyze proteins from fossils and their related genes, according to Patron.
“The world’s most dangerous volcano, Vesuvius, is crucial to assessing the risk by the relevant authorities in the event of a possible future eruption,” said Petron, who has a population of 3 million in and around Naples. .
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