Dna Analysis Solves The Mystery Of Bodies Found At The Bottom Of A Medieval Well

To understand more about how these people died, scientists were recently able to extract detailed genetic material preserved in the bones thanks to recent advances in ancient DNA sequencing. The genome of six of the individuals showed that four of them were related — including three sisters, the youngest of whom was five to 10 years old. Further analysis of the genetic material showed that all six were “almost certainly” Ashkenazi Jews. Researchers believe they all died during the anti-Semitic violence that ravaged the city — most likely a February 1190 revolt related to the Third Crusade, one of a series of church-sponsored religious wars — as described by a medieval chronicler. The number of people killed in the massacre is unclear. “I’m happy and relieved that twelve years after we first started analyzing the remains of these individuals, technology has caught up and helped us understand this historical cold case of who these people were and why we believe they were murdered,” Selina said. . Brace, principal investigator at the Natural History Museum in London and lead author of the paper, said in a press release.
Judaism is primarily a shared religious and cultural identity, the study noted, but as a result of a long practice of intermarriage, Ashkenazi Jewish groups often carry a distinctive genetic ancestry that includes markers for some rare genetic disorders. These include Tay-Sachs disease, which is usually fatal in childhood. The researchers found that the people in the well had similar genetic ancestry to today’s Ashkenazi Jews, who, according to the study, are descendants of medieval Jewish populations with a history primarily in northern and eastern Europe. “No one had analyzed Jewish ancient DNA before because of prohibitions on disturbing Jewish graves. However, we didn’t know they were likely Jewish until after we did the genetic analyses,” evolutionary geneticist and study co-author Mark Thomas, professor at University College London, the announcement states. “It was very surprising that the originally unknown remains filled the historical gap about when certain Jewish communities first formed and the origin of certain genetic disorders,” he said.
DNA analysis also allowed researchers to infer the physical characteristics of a small boy found in the well. He likely had blue eyes and red hair, the latter characteristic associated with historical stereotypes of European Jews, said the study published Tuesday in the journal Current Biology. In the medieval manuscript “Imagines Historiarum II”, the chronicler Ralph de Diceto presents a vivid picture of the massacre: “Many of those who hastened to Jerusalem first decided to rise up against the Jews before attacking the Saracens. Accordingly, on February 6 [in 1190 AD] All Jews found in their homes in Norwich were massacred. some had taken refuge in the castle,” he wrote, according to the press release. The well was located in Norwich’s medieval Jewish quarter, with the study pointing out that the city’s Jewish community were descendants of Ashkenazi Jews from Rouen in Normandy, who were invited to England by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. However, the connection to the rebellion of 1190 is not definitive. Radiocarbon dating of the remains suggests the bodies ended up in the well sometime between 1161 and 1216 — a period that includes some well-documented outbreaks of anti-Semitic violence in England, but also covers the Great Revolt of 1174 in which many people in the city were killed. “Our study shows how effective archaeology, and particularly new scientific techniques such as ancient DNA, can be in providing new perspectives on historical events,” said Tom Booth, senior research fellow at the Francis Crick Institute. “Ralph de Diceto’s account of the attacks of AD 1190 is evocative, but a deep well containing the bodies of Jewish men, women and especially children forces us to face the true horror of what happened.”

title: “Dna Analysis Solves The Mystery Of Bodies Found At The Bottom Of A Medieval Well Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-26” author: “Ann Griner”

To understand more about how these people died, scientists were recently able to extract detailed genetic material preserved in the bones thanks to recent advances in ancient DNA sequencing. The genome of six of the individuals showed that four of them were related — including three sisters, the youngest of whom was five to 10 years old. Further analysis of the genetic material showed that all six were “almost certainly” Ashkenazi Jews. Researchers believe they all died during the anti-Semitic violence that ravaged the city — most likely a February 1190 revolt related to the Third Crusade, one of a series of church-sponsored religious wars — as described by a medieval chronicler. The number of people killed in the massacre is unclear. “I’m happy and relieved that twelve years after we first started analyzing the remains of these individuals, technology has caught up and helped us understand this historical cold case of who these people were and why we believe they were murdered,” Selina said. . Brace, principal investigator at the Natural History Museum in London and lead author of the paper, said in a press release.
Judaism is primarily a shared religious and cultural identity, the study noted, but as a result of a long practice of intermarriage, Ashkenazi Jewish groups often carry a distinctive genetic ancestry that includes markers for some rare genetic disorders. These include Tay-Sachs disease, which is usually fatal in childhood. The researchers found that the people in the well had similar genetic ancestry to today’s Ashkenazi Jews, who, according to the study, are descendants of medieval Jewish populations with a history primarily in northern and eastern Europe. “No one had analyzed Jewish ancient DNA before because of prohibitions on disturbing Jewish graves. However, we didn’t know they were likely Jewish until after we did the genetic analyses,” evolutionary geneticist and study co-author Mark Thomas, professor at University College London, the announcement states. “It was very surprising that the originally unknown remains filled the historical gap about when certain Jewish communities first formed and the origin of certain genetic disorders,” he said.
DNA analysis also allowed researchers to infer the physical characteristics of a small boy found in the well. He likely had blue eyes and red hair, the latter characteristic associated with historical stereotypes of European Jews, said the study published Tuesday in the journal Current Biology. In the medieval manuscript “Imagines Historiarum II”, the chronicler Ralph de Diceto presents a vivid picture of the massacre: “Many of those who hastened to Jerusalem first decided to rise up against the Jews before attacking the Saracens. Accordingly, on February 6 [in 1190 AD] All Jews found in their homes in Norwich were massacred. some had taken refuge in the castle,” he wrote, according to the press release. The well was located in Norwich’s medieval Jewish quarter, with the study pointing out that the city’s Jewish community were descendants of Ashkenazi Jews from Rouen in Normandy, who were invited to England by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. However, the connection to the rebellion of 1190 is not definitive. Radiocarbon dating of the remains suggests the bodies ended up in the well sometime between 1161 and 1216 — a period that includes some well-documented outbreaks of anti-Semitic violence in England, but also covers the Great Revolt of 1174 in which many people in the city were killed. “Our study shows how effective archaeology, and particularly new scientific techniques such as ancient DNA, can be in providing new perspectives on historical events,” said Tom Booth, senior research fellow at the Francis Crick Institute. “Ralph de Diceto’s account of the attacks of AD 1190 is evocative, but a deep well containing the bodies of Jewish men, women and especially children forces us to face the true horror of what happened.”

title: “Dna Analysis Solves The Mystery Of Bodies Found At The Bottom Of A Medieval Well Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-23” author: “Carmen Burke”

To understand more about how these people died, scientists were recently able to extract detailed genetic material preserved in the bones thanks to recent advances in ancient DNA sequencing. The genome of six of the individuals showed that four of them were related — including three sisters, the youngest of whom was five to 10 years old. Further analysis of the genetic material showed that all six were “almost certainly” Ashkenazi Jews. Researchers believe they all died during the anti-Semitic violence that ravaged the city — most likely a February 1190 revolt related to the Third Crusade, one of a series of church-sponsored religious wars — as described by a medieval chronicler. The number of people killed in the massacre is unclear. “I’m happy and relieved that twelve years after we first started analyzing the remains of these individuals, technology has caught up and helped us understand this historical cold case of who these people were and why we believe they were murdered,” Selina said. . Brace, principal investigator at the Natural History Museum in London and lead author of the paper, said in a press release.
Judaism is primarily a shared religious and cultural identity, the study noted, but as a result of a long practice of intermarriage, Ashkenazi Jewish groups often carry a distinctive genetic ancestry that includes markers for some rare genetic disorders. These include Tay-Sachs disease, which is usually fatal in childhood. The researchers found that the people in the well had similar genetic ancestry to today’s Ashkenazi Jews, who, according to the study, are descendants of medieval Jewish populations with a history primarily in northern and eastern Europe. “No one had analyzed Jewish ancient DNA before because of prohibitions on disturbing Jewish graves. However, we didn’t know they were likely Jewish until after we did the genetic analyses,” evolutionary geneticist and study co-author Mark Thomas, professor at University College London, the announcement states. “It was very surprising that the originally unknown remains filled the historical gap about when certain Jewish communities first formed and the origin of certain genetic disorders,” he said.
DNA analysis also allowed researchers to infer the physical characteristics of a small boy found in the well. He likely had blue eyes and red hair, the latter characteristic associated with historical stereotypes of European Jews, said the study published Tuesday in the journal Current Biology. In the medieval manuscript “Imagines Historiarum II”, the chronicler Ralph de Diceto presents a vivid picture of the massacre: “Many of those who hastened to Jerusalem first decided to rise up against the Jews before attacking the Saracens. Accordingly, on February 6 [in 1190 AD] All Jews found in their homes in Norwich were massacred. some had taken refuge in the castle,” he wrote, according to the press release. The well was located in Norwich’s medieval Jewish quarter, with the study pointing out that the city’s Jewish community were descendants of Ashkenazi Jews from Rouen in Normandy, who were invited to England by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. However, the connection to the rebellion of 1190 is not definitive. Radiocarbon dating of the remains suggests the bodies ended up in the well sometime between 1161 and 1216 — a period that includes some well-documented outbreaks of anti-Semitic violence in England, but also covers the Great Revolt of 1174 in which many people in the city were killed. “Our study shows how effective archaeology, and particularly new scientific techniques such as ancient DNA, can be in providing new perspectives on historical events,” said Tom Booth, senior research fellow at the Francis Crick Institute. “Ralph de Diceto’s account of the attacks of AD 1190 is evocative, but a deep well containing the bodies of Jewish men, women and especially children forces us to face the true horror of what happened.”

title: “Dna Analysis Solves The Mystery Of Bodies Found At The Bottom Of A Medieval Well Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-02” author: “Danny Irving”

To understand more about how these people died, scientists were recently able to extract detailed genetic material preserved in the bones thanks to recent advances in ancient DNA sequencing. The genome of six of the individuals showed that four of them were related — including three sisters, the youngest of whom was five to 10 years old. Further analysis of the genetic material showed that all six were “almost certainly” Ashkenazi Jews. Researchers believe they all died during the anti-Semitic violence that ravaged the city — most likely a February 1190 revolt related to the Third Crusade, one of a series of church-sponsored religious wars — as described by a medieval chronicler. The number of people killed in the massacre is unclear. “I’m happy and relieved that twelve years after we first started analyzing the remains of these individuals, technology has caught up and helped us understand this historical cold case of who these people were and why we believe they were murdered,” Selina said. . Brace, principal investigator at the Natural History Museum in London and lead author of the paper, said in a press release.
Judaism is primarily a shared religious and cultural identity, the study noted, but as a result of a long practice of intermarriage, Ashkenazi Jewish groups often carry a distinctive genetic ancestry that includes markers for some rare genetic disorders. These include Tay-Sachs disease, which is usually fatal in childhood. The researchers found that the people in the well had similar genetic ancestry to today’s Ashkenazi Jews, who, according to the study, are descendants of medieval Jewish populations with a history primarily in northern and eastern Europe. “No one had analyzed Jewish ancient DNA before because of prohibitions on disturbing Jewish graves. However, we didn’t know they were likely Jewish until after we did the genetic analyses,” evolutionary geneticist and study co-author Mark Thomas, professor at University College London, the announcement states. “It was very surprising that the originally unknown remains filled the historical gap about when certain Jewish communities first formed and the origin of certain genetic disorders,” he said.
DNA analysis also allowed researchers to infer the physical characteristics of a small boy found in the well. He likely had blue eyes and red hair, the latter characteristic associated with historical stereotypes of European Jews, said the study published Tuesday in the journal Current Biology. In the medieval manuscript “Imagines Historiarum II”, the chronicler Ralph de Diceto presents a vivid picture of the massacre: “Many of those who hastened to Jerusalem first decided to rise up against the Jews before attacking the Saracens. Accordingly, on February 6 [in 1190 AD] All Jews found in their homes in Norwich were massacred. some had taken refuge in the castle,” he wrote, according to the press release. The well was located in Norwich’s medieval Jewish quarter, with the study pointing out that the city’s Jewish community were descendants of Ashkenazi Jews from Rouen in Normandy, who were invited to England by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. However, the connection to the rebellion of 1190 is not definitive. Radiocarbon dating of the remains suggests the bodies ended up in the well sometime between 1161 and 1216 — a period that includes some well-documented outbreaks of anti-Semitic violence in England, but also covers the Great Revolt of 1174 in which many people in the city were killed. “Our study shows how effective archaeology, and particularly new scientific techniques such as ancient DNA, can be in providing new perspectives on historical events,” said Tom Booth, senior research fellow at the Francis Crick Institute. “Ralph de Diceto’s account of the attacks of AD 1190 is evocative, but a deep well containing the bodies of Jewish men, women and especially children forces us to face the true horror of what happened.”