Ancient parchment reveals 3500-year history of sheep pox
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Researchers in Ireland traced the 3500-year history of sheep pox by analyzing animal skin used to make historical manuscripts.
A team from University College Dublin, including geneticists, historians, and virologists, extracted viral DNA from parchment, animal skin prepared for writing, to understand how the disease spread across Eurasia from the Bronze Age into medieval Europe. The scientists found genetic evidence that sheep pox affected European livestock centuries before modern veterinary records existed.
Sheep pox is a highly contagious disease that poses a significant threat to young animals, often causing high death rates. Although parchment-making processes remove most animal material, traces of DNA and pathogens can remain preserved within the pages. Researchers believe each surviving page holds information about the animal from which it originated. The study, published in Science Advances, reconstructed the virus’s evolution over 3500 years.
Scientists examined documents like the 1000-year-old York Gospels and the Corpus Glossary, one of the earliest English dictionaries, finding sheep pox DNA on their pages. This suggests that books were made using the hides of infected animals. Because livestock was central to medieval economies, the researchers say these preserved disease traces may offer insights into past economic hardships. They also unexpectedly discovered the virus on parchment made from calves and goats, indicating cross-species transmission.
