9df8df52-d6b0-37a8-e044-0003ba9b0d98 English dataset British Geological Survey +44 115 936 3100 Environmental Science Centre,Keyworth NOTTINGHAM NOTTINGHAMSHIRE NG12 5GG United Kingdom enquiries@bgs.ac.uk pointOfContact 2026-05-26 UK GEMINI 2.3 http://data.bgs.ac.uk/id/dataHolding/13605051 Biomolecular Achaeology of Ancient Tuberculosis in Britain and Europe 2007-10-01 creation http://data.bgs.ac.uk/id/dataHolding/13605051 PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. Tuberculosis (TB) is a reemerging infection that was also common in the past in Britain. Poverty, drug resistance, the HIV, and migration are key factors in its occurrence today. The disease can be caused by any one of five related bacteria known as the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. In Britain the two most likely candidates are Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis. M. bovis can infect many different animals, including cows, and humans were often infected by drinking milk, which is why it is pasteurised in Britain. Today, most TB infections occur in the lungs, because it is transmitted via coughing, but other parts of the body can also be infected, especially if the disease is caught by eating or drinking infected foods. If left untreated the infection can cause damage to different bones in the body, most commonly the spine, ribs, hips and knees. Archaeologists have used this information to study TB in the past, but visual examination of skeletons does not reveal which bacterium has caused the infection, nor which strain of either species is present. We would like to be able identify species and strains because this would enable us to trace the origin of TB in Britain. We think TB came to Britain from the Mediterranean region but to confirm this idea we would have to compare the particular strain present in early British skeletons with that in bones from southern Europe. Similarly, we believe that there were changes in the frequencies of different strains of Mycobacterium over time, and these changes were possibly influenced by factors such as immigration, changes in population density, and changes in the environment. There are also interesting questions about the evolution of TB in the New World after contact with Europeans. All of these questions could be addressed if we could identify the particular strains of Mycobacterium in skeletons from different places and different time periods. Until recently, this was impossible, but now there are techniques for studying the small amounts of 'ancient' DNA that are preserved in some archaeological skeletons. We will therefore extract ancient DNA from a variety of skeletons that show the bone changes associated with TB, and use DNA sequencing to determine which Mycobacterium strain is present in each case. The proposed project will carry out this work with skeletons from Britain and Europe. Our Project Partners in Arizona State University are doing similar work with bones from North America, and by comparing our two sets of results we will be able to study the impact that Contact had on TB in the New World. Roberts, Professor C University of Durham Archaeology not available principalInvestigator Enquiries British Geological Survey United Kingdom not available distributor Enquiries British Geological Survey United Kingdom not available pointOfContact notApplicable https://resources.bgs.ac.uk/images/geonetworkThumbs/9df8df52-d6b0-37a8-e044-0003ba9b0d98.png Geology GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2008-06-01 publication Archaeology Genetic engineering Evolution Population Environmental impact BGS Thesaurus of Geosciences 2022 revision NGDC Deposited Data dataCentre NERC_DDC otherRestrictions intellectualPropertyRights Project metadata only - no data. Either : (i) the dataset has not been formally approved by BGS for access and use by external clients under license; and / or (ii) the dataset contains 3rd party data or information obtained by BGS under terms and conditions that must be consulted before the dataset can be provided to, or accessed by, BGS staff or external clients. Refer to the BGS staff member responsible for the creation of the dataset if further advice is required. He / she should be familiar with the composition of the dataset, particularly with regard to 3rd party IPR contained in it, and any resultant access restrictions. This staff member should revert to the IPR Section (IPR@bgs.ac.uk) for advice, should the position not be clear. otherRestrictions The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, via the BGS Intellectual Property Rights Manager. Use by customers of information provided by the BGS, is at the customer's own risk. In view of the disparate sources of information at BGS's disposal, including such material donated to BGS, that BGS accepts in good faith as being accurate, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the quality or accuracy of the information supplied, or to the information's suitability for any use. NERC/BGS accepts no liability whatever in respect of loss, damage, injury or other occurence however caused. Either: (i) the dataset is made freely available, e.g. via the Internet, for a restricted category of use (e.g. educational use only); or (ii) the dataset has not been formally approved by BGS for access and use by external clients under licence, but its use may be permitted under alternative formal arrangements; or (iii) the dataset contains 3rd party data or information obtained by BGS under terms and conditions that must be consulted in order to determine the permitted usage of the dataset. Refer to the BGS staff member responsible for the creation of the dataset if further advice is required. He / she should be familiar with the composition of the dataset, particularly with regard to 3rd party IPR contained in it, and any resultant use restrictions. This staff member should revert to the IPR Section (ipr@bgs.ac.uk) for advice, should the position not be clear. English geoscientificInformation British Geological Survey Gazetteer: Geographical hierarchy from Geosaurus 1979 creation EUROPE [id=121000] ISO 3166_1 alpha-3 2009 revision GB British Geological Survey Gazetteer: Geographical hierarchy from Geosaurus 1979 creation UK [id=139300] ISO 3166_2 2009 revision UKM -15.0000 70.0000 35.0000 70.0000 2007-10 2011-04 NERC reference NE/E015697/1. Co-Investigator: Professor TA Brown. DMP only, no data received. Enquiries British Geological Survey United Kingdom not available distributor https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FE015697%2F1 information dataset dataset INSPIRE Implementing rules laying down technical arrangements for the interoperability and harmonisation of Geology 2011 publication See the referenced specification false Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08 publication See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:323:0011:0102:EN:PDF false No Lineage.