Scientists studying a 1,000-year-old Christian manuscript have discovered DNA traces of an ancient disease.
The York Gospels, written in Canterbury by Anglo-Saxon scribes in the 10th century, have been preserved for centuries in York Minster.
However, a new study by University College Dublin involving the York Gospels has revealed that they contained traces of an ancient disease, the sheeppox virus, within its pages.
The manuscript’s parchment was made from animal skins
Sheeppox can spread quickly through animals and can be deadly, especially to the young, but isn’t believed to affect humans.
Researchers shared that they detected traces of the disease in the animal skins that were used to make the parchment. Unexpectedly, however, these animal skins belonged to calves or goats rather than sheep. This suggests either cross-species infections or contamination during the process of making the parchment.
University College DublinUCD described the gospels as a “biological time capsule” preserving evidence of the centuries-old virus.
“It is possible that archives and libraries around the world also contain the genetic traces of disease outbreaks in animals in the past,” said the study’s lead author, Louis L’Hôte.
“These genomes help us understand how these pathogens evolved and how they affected past societies such as sheeppox virus, which we show has been affecting Eurasian sheep herds for at least three-and-a-half millennia,” they continued.
L’Hôte added that the pathogen is still a threat today and studying its ancient DNA could help to eradicate it.
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