28 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Researchers sequenced the DNA 1,600-year-old sheep mummy from an ancient Iranian salt mine, Chehrabad

A multinational team of geneticists and archaeologists sequenced the DNA from a 1,600-year-old sheep mummy discovered from Chehrabad, a salt mine in Iran.

This unique specimen has revealed ancient Near Eastern sheep husbandry techniques and highlighted how natural mummification might impact DNA degradation.

Research results were just published in the peer-reviewed international journal Biology Letters.

The Chehrabad salt mine is notable for preserving biological material. The new research confirms that this natural mummification process – where water is removed from a corpse, preserving soft tissues that would otherwise be degraded – also conserved animal remains.

The Trinity geneticist-led research team took advantage of this by extracting DNA from a tiny slice of mummified flesh from a leg discovered in the mine.

While most old DNA is damaged and fragmented, the researchers discovered that the DNA from the sheep mummies was exceptionally well preserved, with longer fragment lengths and less damage than one would expect from such an ancient period. According to the researchers, this is due to the mummification process, with the salt mine offering perfect conditions for the preservation of animal tissues and DNA.

The mummified sheep leg
The mummified sheep leg. Photo: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum and Zanjan Cultural Heritage Centre, Archaeological Museum of Zanjan.

The mummified animal was genetically identical to contemporary sheep varieties from the region, which suggests that sheep ancestors had been present in Iran since at least 1,600 years ago.

“Mummified remains are quite rare so little empirical evidence was known about the survival of ancient DNA in these tissues prior to this study,” says Conor Rossi, a Ph.D. candidate in Trinity’s School of Genetics and Microbiology, and the lead author of the paper.

“The astounding integrity of the DNA was not like anything we had encountered from ancient bones and teeth before. This DNA preservation, coupled with the unique metagenomic profile, is an indication of how fundamental the environment is to tissue and DNA decay dynamics.

The team used the animal’s DNA preservation to look at genes linked to a fluffy fleece and a big tail–two key economic characteristics in sheep. Some wild sheep have a “hairy” coat, which differs greatly from the woolly coats seen in many domestic sheep today. Fat-tailed sheep are also common in Asia and Africa, where they are valued in cooking, and where they may be well-adapted to arid climates.

The researchers created a genetic imprint of the sheep and determined that the mummy lacked the gene variation linked with a woolly coat, but fiber examination using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) revealed tiny features of the hair fibers compatible with hairy or mixed coat breeds. Intriguingly, the mummy carried genetic variants associated with fat-tailed breeds, suggesting the sheep was similar to the hairy-coated, fat-tailed sheep seen in Iran today.

Dr. Kevin G Daly, also from Trinity’s School of Genetics and Microbiology, supervised the study.

“Using a combination of genetic and microscopic approaches, our team managed to create a genetic picture of what sheep breeds in Iran 1,600 years ago may have looked like and how they may have been used,” he said.

Read the original scholarly article about this research in Biology Letters.

Related Articles

Archaeologists Find Mysterious 2,800-year-old Channels in Jerusalem

30 August 2023

30 August 2023

Archaeologists excavating in Jerusalem have uncovered a network of mysterious channels dating back to the days of King Joash and...

Ancient Mesopotamians bred horse-like hybrids

17 January 2022

17 January 2022

New research finds that Mesopotamians were utilizing hybrids of domesticated donkeys and wild asses to drive their war wagons 4,300...

AI Unlocks Ancient Secrets: Dead Sea Scrolls May Be Centuries Older Than Previously Thought

8 June 2025

8 June 2025

New research blends cutting-edge artificial intelligence with advanced radiocarbon dating and offers a transformative perspective on the origins of the...

Archaeologists reveal 4,000-year-old rock-cut tomb, artifacts in Saqqara

8 January 2024

8 January 2024

A team of Egyptian and Japanese archaeologists has unveiled a rock-cut tomb believed to be more than 4,000 years old...

Rich Votive Deposit Discovered in the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento

10 August 2023

10 August 2023

At least sixty terracotta figurines, female protomes, and busts, oil lamps, and small vases, a rich votive deposit of bronze...

Egyptian archaeologists discovered 16 meters long ancient papyrus with spells from the Book of the Dead

19 January 2023

19 January 2023

Archaeologists working in Egypt’s Saqqara region have unearthed a 16-meter-long ancient papyrus for the first time in a century. Saqqara...

7.5 Million Annual Elephant Skulls Fossil Were Found in Turkey “Choerolophodon Pentelic”

17 March 2021

17 March 2021

A complete skull fossil from 7.5 million years ago was discovered on the bank of the Yamula Dam in the...

Archaeologists Unearth Unique and Exceptionally Preserved Roman Wooden Water Pipe in Belgium

8 May 2025

8 May 2025

Nestled in the Flanders region of Belgium, not far from the country’s capital, Brussels, the charming city of Leuven is...

Scandinavia’s first farmers slaughtered the hunter-gatherer population, according to a new study

9 February 2024

9 February 2024

Following the arrival of the first farmers in Scandinavia 5,900 years ago, the hunter-gatherer population was wiped out within a...

Genetic Analysis Reveals A Woman As The Highest-Ranking Individual In Copper Age Spain: ‘Ivory Lady’

6 July 2023

6 July 2023

According to a study published Thursday (July 6) in the journal Scientific Reports, the highest-status individual in ancient Copper Age...

A 13th-Century Italian Fresco Reveals the Medieval Church’s Use of Islamic Altar Tents

3 February 2025

3 February 2025

A recently rediscovered 13th-century fresco in Ferrara, Italy, offers significant insights into the medieval practice of utilizing Islamic tents to...

350,000-Year-Old Human Settlement have been Discovered on the Arabian Peninsula

17 May 2021

17 May 2021

One of the world’s oldest Acheulean sites was found in the northern region of Hail in Saudi Arabia. Al Nasim...

12 tombs with Beautiful Decorations and Carved Bricks from the period of Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, found in China

22 May 2023

22 May 2023

China has a rich history. In addition to the fossil records from the Paleolithic Period, the country has witnessed the...

Bom Jesus: The Oldest and Most Valuable Shipwreck Found in the Namibian Desert

20 March 2025

20 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, the Bom Jesus (The Good Jesus), a Portuguese ship that sank over 500 years ago,...

3,000-Year-Old Huge Settlement Discovered in Northern France

24 March 2025

24 March 2025

Archaeologists have unearthed a remarkable settlement in the Hauts-de-France region, dating back to the Late Bronze Age and early Iron...