Led by University College Dublin, an international team extracted ancient viral DNA from historically significant texts, including the 1,000-year-old York Gospels and Cambridge's Corpus Glossary. Because medieval scribes utilized cattle, sheep, and goat hides to produce parchment, the surviving documents preserved genetic traces of the infections present in the livestock at death. Unexpected traces were also detected on calfskin and goatskin, pointing to potential cross-species transmission or manuscript workshop contamination. This novel approach allows researchers to trace how livestock diseases shaped Eurasian societies across the centuries.
Key points
Ancient parchment manuscripts serve as biological archives documenting historical livesto…: Ancient parchment manuscripts serve as biological archives documenting historical livestock disease outbreaks across Eurasia.
The sheeppox pathogen has remained remarkably unchanged over thousands of years of evolut…: The sheeppox pathogen has remained remarkably unchanged over thousands of years of evolution.
Viral detection on calfskin and goatskin suggests potential cross-species infection or hi…: Viral detection on calfskin and goatskin suggests potential cross-species infection or hide contamination during manuscript production.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
- Date:
- November 11, 2026
- Source:
- University College Dublin
- Summary:
- Ancient manuscripts, including the 1,000-year-old York Gospels, have revealed traces of a deadly sheep virus whose history stretches back more than 3,700 years. Scientists discovered that the virus has remained remarkably unchanged for millennia, turning historic parchment into an unexpected record of ancient disease outbreaks.
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Some of Europe's most famous medieval manuscripts, including the York Gospels, have revealed an extraordinary secret hidden in their pages. Scientists have discovered ancient viral DNA preserved in the animal skins used to make parchment, opening a new window into the 3,500-year history of sheeppox virus (SPPV).
The discovery was made by an international research team led by University College Dublin (UCD). By analyzing parchment from centuries-old documents, the researchers uncovered the first genetic evidence that this destructive disease was spreading through European sheep flocks long before modern times.
Sheeppox is highly contagious and can spread through a flock with alarming speed. It can kill large numbers of infected animals, particularly young sheep, while also causing major economic…
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