Revealing the secrets of a 2900-year-old clay brick, discovering a time capsule of ancient DNA

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.

Automated summary

The recent development of ancient DNA sequencing techniques has provided valuable insights into previous civilizations, but their full potential has not yet been realized. In this study, researchers extracted ancient DNA from a 2900-year-old clay brick from the palace of King Ashurnasirpal II in Nimrud, Iraq. They identified 34 unique taxonomic groups of plants, making the pioneering discovery that ancient DNA can be effectively protected and successfully extracted from well-preserved clay. Future research in this area has significant scientific prospects and could lead to a deeper understanding of ancient and lost civilizations.