Scientists have for the first time sequenced the most complete and oldest ancient Egyptian genome ever found—unlocking new secrets from the Old Kingdom.

A new study sequencing the first complete ancient Egyptian genome reveals the 4,500-year-old man had significant ancestry from Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).

DNA obtained from the remains of a man who lived in ancient Egypt around the time the first pyramids were built is providing evidence of the ties between two great cultures of the period, with a fifth of his genetic ancestry traced to Mesopotamia.