Pompeii horse is in fact an ass

[Melvadius]

Scientific analysis can provide new insights into the past but occasionally things go slightly wrong in the lab, as this report by the BBC based on an article accepted by the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry shows:

 

It has baffled experts for years but now a Cambridge University researcher has established the true identity of a skeleton discovered at Pompeii.

 

Initial research suggested it was an unknown, possibly extinct, horse. It is in fact a type of donkey.

 

Susan Gurney discovered that horse and donkey DNA had been accidently merged in the original research.

 

"In hindsight, it's possible to recognise two separate strands of horse and donkey DNA," she explained.

 

...continued

[Klingan]

I'm really tempted to use internet slang now (i.e. lol). I have always read that the remains found in this house came from donkeys and, to be honest, this was the kind of animal used to "power" mills (found in room 5 of this house).

 

Thanks for the link thou!