Researchers extract ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick, revealing a time capsule of plant life

Published on August 21, 2023

University of Oxford researchers have contributed to the first successful extraction of ancient DNA from a 2,900 year-old clay brick. The analysis, published today in Nature Scientific Reports, provides a fascinating insight into the diversity of plant species cultivated at that time and place, and could open the way to similar studies on clay material from different sites and time periods.