Nice. We’re funded!:
Thanks to an amazing piece at the CNN blog Light Years by Ed Yong, the outpouring of support for the Roman DNA Project today has been astounding! In financial news, we have actually exceeded our $6,000 goal, after just 10 days. That goal was to fund analysis of at least 20 individuals (the immigrants to Rome that I found through Sr/O isotope analysis). Of course, we are accepting donations through mid-December, so additional funding will be put to good use – studying more ancient Romans! And I’ve received a dozen or more emails today from people as excited as I am about this project, offering their encouragement, lab services, expertise, and knowledge about the ancient world. I will respond to all of them, I promise, but it might take a few days! Again, thank you – all of you reading this – for making this project a reality!
Dienekes has a little extra commentary. In any case, congratulations are in order! This sort of genetic science seems to be "low hanging fruit." It isn't as if you need to fund a massive particle accelerator and what not. I hope that all the museums with assorted samples in their back rooms may now consider the possibility that they don't have to wait for Max Planck to approach them....
