No matter what, history always reveals its secrets. Even thoroughly studied periods, such as Ancient Rome, have hidden details that take years to uncover. With modern DNA testing, though, experts realized some truths about the Eternal City’s bygone population. What we thought we knew about them has been upended by the genetic information they left behind. Heading up this new look at the Ancient Romans was study senior author Jonathan Pritchard, who also works as a professor of biology and genetics at Stanford University. He and the rest of the team – which included researchers in Italy, Ireland, Austria and France – hoped to learn more about the legendary civilization through the DNA its people had left behind.