Now it appears the heat was so immense it turned one victim’s brain to glass – thought to be the first time this has been seen. They say the find is remarkable since brain tissue is rarely preserved at all due to decomposition, and where it is found it has typically turned to soap. “This material was preserved exclusively in the victim’s skull, thus it had to be the vitrified remains of the brain. “The detection of glassy material from the victim’s head, of proteins expressed in human brain, and of fatty acids found in human hair indicates the thermally induced preservation of vitrified human brain tissue,” the team write. However, no vitrified human brain tissues were found among these victims, suggesting slightly different conditions to those at the Collegium Augustalium.

Source: The Guardian January 22, 2020 21:56 UTC