Scientists examining the sacred pages of a 1,000-year-old Gospel discovered something no scribe could have seen: ancient virus DNA preserved within the manuscript’s animal-skin parchment.
Researchers found traces of the sheeppox virus in the York Gospels, a Christian manuscript written by Anglo-Saxon scribes in Canterbury during the late 900s, Fox News reported. The book was later brought to York Minster, where it has remained for centuries.
The discovery was detailed in a study published in the journal Science Advances. Researchers from University College Dublin analyzed DNA preserved in manuscripts and animal remains to trace thousands of years of the virus’s evolution.
Sheeppox is a highly contagious livestock disease, though it is not known to infect humans. Because parchment was made from animal skins, its pages can retain genetic evidence from the animals used to produce it.
Researchers unexpectedly detected sheeppox DNA on parchment made from calfskin and goatskin. The finding could point to cross-species infections or contamination during the parchment-making process.
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UCD called the York Gospels a “biological time capsule” containing evidence of a disease that has threatened livestock for thousands of years.
By comparing the manuscript evidence with DNA recovered from Bronze Age sheep teeth, researchers determined that sheeppox has affected livestock for more than 3,700 years.
“It is possible that archives and libraries around the world also contain the genetic traces of disease outbreaks in animals in the past,” study lead author and UCD doctoral candidate Louis L’Hôte said in a university statement.
The finding is not merely a window into the distant past. Sheeppox can spread rapidly, kill young animals and damage the production of wool, meat and milk. L’Hôte said an ongoing outbreak in Greece is causing significant economic damage.
The York Gospels have carried the written message of Christianity across the centuries. Now, their parchment is also revealing a biological history that remained invisible for nearly 1,000 years.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
