Scientists find sheep pox DNA in 1,000-year-old York Gospels parchment

September 5, 2026 at 01:29 PM2 min

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An international team led by University College Dublin extracted DNA from animal skins used in medieval parchment and found sheep pox virus traces in the 1,000-year-old York Gospels and the Corpus Glossary at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. The findings, published in Science Advances, indicate that infected animals were used in the production of these manuscripts. The virus has threatened livestock for over 3,700 years, according to the study.

Key Facts

The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
The York Gospels date back 1,000 years to the late Anglo-Saxon period.
The Corpus Glossary is held at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and is considered one of England's oldest dictionaries.
Sheep pox virus causes fever, skin lesions, and death, and is highly contagious among sheep.
There is no evidence that sheep pox virus infects humans.

Parchment DNA Analysis

An international team of geneticists, historians, virologists, protein chemists, and conservation specialists led by University College Dublin extracted DNA from animal skins used to make centuries-old parchment. Most medieval texts were written on parchment prepared from sheep, goat, and cattle skins. The researchers found traces of sheep pox virus in the 1,000-year-old York Gospels and the Corpus Glossary at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. In some cases, viral DNA was detected on multiple pages of the same manuscript, indicating that infected animals were used in its production.

Virus History and Evolution

The researchers combined DNA from the manuscripts with older samples from Bronze Age sheep teeth. They determined that sheep pox has threatened livestock for over 3,700 years. Lead author Louis L'Hôte stated that recording ancient DNA of pathogens has completely changed understanding of past infectious diseases. L'Hôte noted that the sheep pox virus genome has been very stable over the last few millennia, unlike smallpox virus. He suggested that earlier genetic changes may have been crucial for the virus to evolve to infect its host, which could help combat the pathogen in the future.