Oldest brain gives up its grisly secrets

THE secrets of a 2,600- yearold brain found in a skull in York have finally been uncovered.

Scientists believe the man’s brain was preserved so well because of mud in the pit where it was found.

Their analysis showed the man probably died in his 30s after being hanged. His head was then cut away using a small knife.

Bradford University said the brain’s good condition on discovery in 2008 was down to a ‘lack of oxygen in the ground and waterlogged conditions’ in clay-rich soil.

It was unearthed during digging for a university building in the city’s Heslington area.

Being buried soon after death also helped its preservation.

The man’s DNA profile is linked with the Middle East and Tuscany.