8 August 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

1,600-Year-Old Rare Greek Letter-Shaped Weights and Scale Found in Türkiye’s Uzuncaburç

9 July 2025

9 July 2025

Archaeologists have made a significant discovery at the ancient city of Uzuncaburç in Türkiye’s southern Mersin province — a complete...

Forged 5,000 Years Ago: The World’s Oldest Swords Discovered at Arslantepe Mound, Türkiye

10 June 2025

10 June 2025

In the arid plains of Eastern Anatolia, nestled along the western bank of the Euphrates River near Malatya, Turkey, lies...

Ancient Roman Fast Food: Songbirds Were a Popular Snack in 1st-Century Mallorca

11 June 2025

11 June 2025

Roman fast food, ancient Roman cuisine, song thrush consumption, Roman street food, Mallorca archaeology, Pollentia findings, Roman bird bones, ancient...

Rare Anglo-Saxon Gold and Garnet Artifacts Discovered in Wiltshire

12 May 2025

12 May 2025

A breathtaking discovery in the southwestern English county of Wiltshire has captivated archaeologists and metal detecting enthusiasts alike. Two detectorists,...

Secrets of the Ancient Walls: 1,700-Year-Old Roman Altar Unearthed at Vuçak Castle in Kosovo

19 April 2025

19 April 2025

Excavations at Vuçak Castle in the Kosovo countryside have led to a remarkable discovery: a Roman altar dating back to...

A basement discovered on the premises of the ruins of Hitoyoshi Castle in Japan could be a Jewish bathing facility!

7 December 2022

7 December 2022

Experts are still indecisive about why there was a bathing area in the basement which was discovered on the site...

Croatian Team Finds a Way to Effectively and Permanently Preserve Stuka Aircraft Wreck Under the Sea

11 December 2024

11 December 2024

 The ICUA Zadar team of conservators and archaeologists carried out in situ underwater conservation of the wreckage of the Junkers...

Amateur makes ‘Gold Find of the Century’ in Norway

7 September 2023

7 September 2023

A Norwegian 51-year-old Erlend Bore out walking on doctors’ advice unearthed rare 6th-century gold jewellery using a newly bought metal...

Ancient Jordanian town referred to as Heshbon in the Old Testament provides insight into regional agricultural history

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

The American archaeologist stated that Tell Hisban, located on the Madaba plains of Jordan, represents the “granary of the empires”....

The earliest manuscript of Gospel about Jesus’s childhood discovered in Germany

14 June 2024

14 June 2024

A newly deciphered manuscript dating back 1,600 years has been determined to be the oldest record of Jesus Christ’s childhood,...

A rare 2500-year-old saw, the first of its kind, discovered in Anatolia

28 November 2023

28 November 2023

Archaeologists conducting excavations in Çorum, the capital of the Ancient Hittite Empire in northern Turkey, discovered a 2,250-year-old saw. Recent...

Bronze Age Petroglyphs discovered in Kazakhstan

1 May 2024

1 May 2024

Volunteers in Kazakhstan have discovered new petroglyphs from the Bronze Age. The rock carvings were found by volunteers of the...

Famous Egyptologist Zahi Hawass Wants to See Hieroglyphs as an İntegral Part of The Curriculum

23 February 2021

23 February 2021

The Egyptian council of ministers is discussing the introduction of archaeological and tourist materials in the education curriculum to help...

Evidence of Necromancy during Roman era in the Te’omim Cave, Jerusalem Hills: Oil Lamps, Spearheads, and Skulls

14 July 2023

14 July 2023

Te’omim Cave in the Jerusalem Hills may once have served as a local oracle where people communed with the dead...

Viking Family identified using New DNA Technology

9 June 2021

9 June 2021

Researchers were able to confirm the connection between two Viking remains discovered in Denmark and England thanks to new DNA...