Traces of Ancient Disease Discovered Within Pages of Thousand-Year-Old Gospels

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Scientists have identified ancient DNA fragments of sheeppox on the parchment of the York Gospels, revealing new insights into the history of livestock diseases.

Traces of Ancient Disease Discovered Within Pages of Thousand-Year-Old Gospels
Image credit: Nypost

The scientific community has turned to an unconventional source to track the history of ancient diseases: thousand-year-old religious texts. A new study led by University College Dublin (UCD) has identified ancient DNA (aDNA) remnants of the sheeppox virus within the pages of the York Gospels, one of England's most significant cultural treasures.

Parchment as a Biological Time Capsule

Penned by Anglo-Saxon scribes in Canterbury during the late 10th century, the York Gospels have been preserved at York Minster for centuries. This manuscript, written on parchment made from animal skins, is described by researchers as a 'biological time capsule.' Analyses demonstrate that pathogens carried by the animals from which the parchment was produced can preserve their genetic codes within these pages for a millennium [1].

A Millennium of Genetic Stability

Louis L'Hote, the lead researcher of the study, notes that unlike smallpox, the sheeppox virus has remained genetically remarkably stable over the last few thousand years. This suggests that the virus's ability to infect its hosts may have been shaped by genetic shifts in much earlier periods. Understanding the history of this pathogen, which continues to cause significant economic damage to livestock across Eurasia today, is of great importance for modern medicine and veterinary science [2].

Hidden Genetic Heritage in Archives

This finding proves that libraries and archives worldwide house more than just written records of human history; they also contain the genetic footprints of past animal epidemics. Such multidisciplinary studies on ancient manuscripts open a new window into understanding past environmental conditions and human-animal interactions [3]. Experts predict that alongside teeth and bone samples, parchment will become an indispensable resource for ancient DNA research.

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