Can a healthy brain be preserved for almost 3,000 years? That seems, after the confirmation by a team of archaeologists from the York Archaeological Trust center (United Kingdom) that the brain found in 2009 in the town of Heslington (York, United Kingdom) belonged to a person and that it is around 2,600 years old. seniority .
The body in which the brain was found featured the skull, jaw, and two vertebrae that were still attached and was face down in a well. The researchers found no trace of the other parts of his body but what was striking was what they discovered when cleaning the skull: “I looked through the hole at the base of the skull to investigate and, to my surprise, I saw a quantity of spongy material. bright yellow . It was like nothing I’d ever seen before, ”explains Rachel Cubitt, co-author of the study.
After confirming, with great surprise, that it was a brain, they found that it was very well preserved. Since this time, 34 scientists have been working tirelessly with the intention of shedding some light on this mystery . The findings have revealed that it is probably a man, between 26 and 45 years old, who lived in the 6th century ad C, which indicates that the brain is about 2,600 years old.
The reason why it has not decomposed for so many years is a mystery since the outside of the head seems to have disappeared naturally and gradually due to the effect of water, oxygen and temperature. According to their findings, the head was severed from the body (possibly after hanging) and immediately thrown into a hole in the soil rich in wet clay, freeing the oxygen zone . Over time the hair, skin and flesh of the skull have decomposed but the fats and proteins of the brain seem to have joined together to form a mass of large complex molecules that shrink and compact the brain, keeping its shape and many microscopic features found only in brain tissue.
“As there was no trace of oxygen in the brain, and there is no movement, it was protected and preserved,” the authors conclude.
