Revealing the secrets of a 2900-year-old clay brick, discovering a time capsule of ancient DNA
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Revealing the secrets of a 2900-year-old clay brick, discovering a time capsule of ancient DNA. / Arbøll, Troels Pank; Rasmussen, Sophie Lund; Hansen, Anne Haslund; de Jonge, Nadieh; Pertoldi, Cino; Nielsen, Jeppe Lund.
In: Scientific Reports, Vol. 13, 13092 (20239, 2023.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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T1 - Revealing the secrets of a 2900-year-old clay brick, discovering a time capsule of ancient DNA
AU - Arbøll, Troels Pank
AU - Rasmussen, Sophie Lund
AU - Hansen, Anne Haslund
AU - de Jonge, Nadieh
AU - Pertoldi, Cino
AU - Nielsen, Jeppe Lund
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The recent development of techniques to sequence ancient DNA has provided valuable insights into the civilisations that came before us. However, the full potential of these methods has yet to be realised. We extracted ancient DNA from a recently exposed fracture surface of a clay brick deriving from the palace of king Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE) in Nimrud, Iraq. We detected 34 unique taxonomic groups of plants. With this research we have made the pioneering discovery that ancient DNA, effectively protected from contamination inside a mass of clay, can successfully be extracted from a 2900-year-old clay brick. We encourage future research into this subject, as the scientific prospects for this approach are substantial, potentially leading to a deeper understanding of ancient and lost civilisations.
AB - The recent development of techniques to sequence ancient DNA has provided valuable insights into the civilisations that came before us. However, the full potential of these methods has yet to be realised. We extracted ancient DNA from a recently exposed fracture surface of a clay brick deriving from the palace of king Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE) in Nimrud, Iraq. We detected 34 unique taxonomic groups of plants. With this research we have made the pioneering discovery that ancient DNA, effectively protected from contamination inside a mass of clay, can successfully be extracted from a 2900-year-old clay brick. We encourage future research into this subject, as the scientific prospects for this approach are substantial, potentially leading to a deeper understanding of ancient and lost civilisations.
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-023-38191-w
DO - 10.1038/s41598-023-38191-w
M3 - Journal article
VL - 13
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
M1 - 13092 (20239
ER -
ID: 362842315