![]() ![]() ![]() Their DNA sequence appeared to show an affinity to modern day Middle Eastern populations. So what did the Bulgarian bones tell us? Radio carbon dating suggested they were indeed 2,000 years old. Also, we have growing collections of DNA sampled from people around the world, which we can use to make a guess on the geographical origins of the relics. If we find other relics purported to be from John the Baptist, or a close relative like Jesus, then we could use genetics to compare the two to see if they are likely to have come from the same or related people. We can compare the DNA from a relic to DNA from other relics. In my opinion, there are two clear benefits that the analysis of DNA can bring to this particular party. What DNA can tell youĭNA should be used as an additional tool to archaeology. We can also try to take DNA from the inside of bones and sequence DNA from the people who are known to have come into contact with the artefacts to help tell the ancient DNA and modern contaminants apart. That means we can differentiate modern contamination from ancient genomes. DNA degrades over time, so we can test any DNA extracted from ancient remains for telltale signs of degradation. In the 500 years between John’s death and the bones being sealed in the church, any number of people could have handled them and left their DNA behind.īut this doesn’t mean that all is lost. The best ancient samples are dug out of the ground, put into a bag, and then sent straight to an ancient DNA lab. ![]() In an ideal scenario, ancient material we want to use for genetic analysis should be untouched by anyone since that person had died. So sequencing DNA in itself is not going to be too helpful.Īnother major consideration is the risk of contamination. To do that, we’d need to have a DNA sample that unambiguously came from John the Baptist that we could compare the bones to. We can’t extract and analyse an unknown DNA sample and magically say that it belonged to this or that historical character. For a start, no DNA test can prove that these were bits of John the Baptist, Jesus or any other specific person. I was initially sceptical about what the Bulgarian bones could teach us. We now have DNA sequences from hundreds of people who are long since dead, and analysis of these sequences is further refining our understanding of human history. Thanks to a number of scientific advances, the field of ancient DNA – the extraction and analysis of genetic material from bones and fossils of organisms dug up out of the ground – is booming. The finding is hugely important, partly because John the Baptist was both a disciple of Jesus and his cousin – meaning they would share DNA.Įarly morning on the Mount of Olives looking over the old city of Jeruasalem. The epitaph on the smaller box, probably used to carry the bones when travelling, was the key piece of evidence that led him to believe that the bones could perhaps be those of John the Baptist. To Saint John.” When Kasimir later opened the reliquary, he found five bone fragments. On the edge of the inferior box was an inscription: “May God save you, servant Thomas. He continued to dig around and found another, smaller box about a metre away. This box, known as a reliquary, would have housed such a relic. For a church to be consecrated in this part of Europe in the fifth century, it needed to contain a relic from a holy saint or religious person. As he carefully scraped through the mud where the altar would have been, he came across a stone slab and was amazed to find a small marble box underneath. Popkonstantinov made his discovery when excavating a sixth century church on the island, built on top of a basilica from the century before. Together with biblical scholar Joe Basile, I was travelling around the world filming a documentary about the religious and scientific evidence linking archaeological artefacts to Jesus Christ himself. I was interested in what DNA analysis could tell us about these bones, and other ones. In 2010, Kasimir Popkonstantinov discovered what he believes are the bones of one of the most famous of all saints: John the Baptist. But I was there to speak to an old Bulgarian archaeologist about the most important find of his career. Sveti Ivan has long been a destination for travellers: it boasted a temple of Apollo in ancient times. On a bright but bitterly cold January afternoon earlier this year, I found myself on a small island in the Black Sea, just off Sozopol on the east coast of Bulgaria. It was the first stop on an extraordinary journey. ![]()
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