BBC - History - Viking genetics survey results http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/genetics_results_01.shtml CATEGORIES TV RADIO COMMUNICATE WHERE I LIVE INDEX SEARCH WEDNESDAY 26th February 2003 Text only BBC Homepage History Viking genetics survey results Ancient To the Viking genes map By Nicola Cook (December 2001) Vikings 1 of 8 my BBC The survey N&E England Contact Us S&W England Scotland Wales Help Isle of Man Ireland Channel Islands Like this page? Printable version Send it to a friend! The survey The UCL genetics survey set out to discover if any genetic traces of the Vikings remained in the British Isles - and what this might reveal about the Viking Age. We hoped to find out where Vikings settled and roughly how significant those settlements were. DNA samples were taken from men at a number of sites. In the main, small towns were chosen and the men tested were required to be able to trace their male line back two generations in the same rural area - within 20 miles of the town chosen. The aim was to reduce the effects of later population movements, assuming that in between the Norman invasion of 1066 and the 20th century movement would have been limited. The tests looked at the Y chromosome, which is only carried by men. This chromosome is particularly useful for population genetics studies as it is passed directly from father to son with virtually no alteration. Other chromosomes exist in pairs, one member of which is passed on from the mother and the other from the father. But because women do not carry a Y chromosome, geneticists can always be sure that this part of a man's DNA has come from his father, and from his grandfather before him. This chromosome allows geneticists to begin to unravel the male ancestry of the British Isles. Samples taken in modern day Norway were used to represent the Norwegian Vikings, and samples from Denmark represented the Danish input. The population of the British Isles before the invasions of the Saxons was considered to be the Ancient Britons, which would include the Celts. The Blood of the Vikings Genetics Survey at UCL was headed by Professor David Goldstein. The members of the research team were Cristian Capelli, Nicola Redhead, Julia Abernethy, Neil Bradman and Jim Wilson. Extra sampling was done in the Wirral by Prof Steve Harding and in the Channel Islands by Frank Falle. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites Reading room Multimedia zone For kids How to Terms & Conditions | Privacy 1 of 1 26-02-03 12:15 BBC - History - Viking Map http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/vikingmap.shtml CATEGORIES TV RADIO COMMUNICATE WHERE I LIVE INDEX SEARCH WEDNESDAY 26th February 2003 Text only BBC Homepage History For the BBC series 'Blood of the Vikings', University College London undertook a survey to uncover Viking genes in the British 긔 History Isles. Ancient Vikings Select a region on the map to see the my BBC historical and scientific evidence of a Viking Contact Us presence in that area. Help Like this page? Send it to a friend! Find out how the genetics survey was conducted. Reading room Multimedia zone For kids How to Terms & Conditions | Privacy 1 of 1 26-02-03 12:15 BBC - History - Viking Map http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/vikingmap.shtml?scotland CATEGORIES TV RADIO COMMUNICATE WHERE I LIVE INDEX SEARCH WEDNESDAY 26th February 2003 Text only BBC Homepage History For the BBC series 'Blood of the Vikings', University College London undertook a survey to uncover Viking genes in the British 긔 History Isles. Ancient Vikings By 900, the Vikings had established bases on my BBC Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides, as well as Contact Us at Caithness on mainland Scotland. Help These areas remained under Scandinavian control for centuries- Like this with Orkney and page? Shetland the last to be Send it to a lost in the 15th century. friend! The long period of Norse settlement suggests Viking genes will be found here. More historical evidence >> Viking genes were not prevalent in mainland Scotland but male DNA samples from the Hebrides were over 30% Norwegian. Those from the Northern Isles, Shetland and Orkney were 60% Norwegian. More scientific evidence >> Reading room Multimedia zone For kids How to Terms & Conditions | Privacy 1 of 1 26-02-03 12:16 BBC - History - The Vikings in the British Isles http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/british_isles_03.shtml CATEGORIES TV RADIO COMMUNICATE WHERE I LIVE INDEX SEARCH WEDNESDAY 26th February 2003 Text only BBC Homepage History The Vikings in the British Isles Ancient To the Viking genes map By Nicola Cook Vikings 3 of 6 my BBC Ireland Isle of Man Contact Us Scotland England Wales Help Go further Printable version Like this page? Send it to a friend! The Vikings raided, then settled in Scotland Scotland According to written sources the Vikings began raiding across Europe in the late 8th century, and Scotland is no exception. The monastery at Iona was attacked at least three times, and the monks were eventually forced to relocate to the relative safety of Kells in Ireland. But the Vikings did not just raid. They also settled in the Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland and Caithness in the north of Scotland. As well as a large amount of archaeological evidence for the Vikings presence, there are a huge number of placenames which have their roots in the of Old Norse. Although there can be no doubt that Vikings lived in Northern Scotland, a question which has caused much controversy is what happened to the Scottish natives, the Picts. In Shetland virtually all the placenames have roots which can Pictish artefacts were found within the be traced back to Old Norse, which remains of Norse buildings at Birsay, seems to suggest the Picts were Orkney wiped out, allowing the Vikings to rename everything. But archaeological evidence from the Northern Isles appears to show Pictish and Viking settlers living side by side. Another piece of evidence which suggests the relationship between the Picts and Vikings was more peaceful than violent are some Pictish antler combs. Dated much earlier than the first recorded Viking attacks, some of these appear to be made from reindeer antler. Reindeer could only have come from Norway. So the Picts might have been trading with the Vikings long Bone combs decorated in both Pictish before the beginning of the 'Viking and Norse style were found side by side Age'. at Birsay The Vikings remained in the Scottish Isles for longer than in any other part of Great Britain and Ireland. The Hebrides were part of the Viking kingdom on the Isle of Man until the 13th century, when they were lost at the Battle of Largs. Shetland and Orkney were part of Norway and then Denmark until they too were given to Scotland, as part of a dowry payment, in the 15th century. Reading room Multimedia zone For kids How to Terms & Conditions | Privacy 1 of 1 26-02-03 12:19 BBC - History - Viking genetics survey results http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/genetics_results_04.shtml CATEGORIES TV RADIO COMMUNICATE WHERE I LIVE INDEX SEARCH WEDNESDAY 26th February 2003 Text only BBC Homepage History Viking genetics survey results Ancient To the Viking genes map By Nicola Cook Vikings 4 of 8 my BBC The survey N&E England Contact Us S&W England Scotland Wales Help Isle of Man Ireland Channel Islands Like this page? Printable version Send it to a friend! Scotland Testing sites: Durness (Highlands), Kirkwall (Orkney), Oban (Argyll), Pitlochry (Perthshire), Stonehaven (Aberdeenshire), Lerwick (Shetland), Lewis, Harris, Uist The UCL team encountered difficulties in distinguishing between the DNA of Saxon and Danish invaders. The Saxons and Angles arrived in the 5th century AD. They came from northern Saxony, just to the south of Denmark, so it is not surprising that DNA samples from this region are very similar to that of the Danes. In mainland Scotland, as in England, these groups were lumped together as 'invaders' (Angles, Saxons and Danish Vikings). Most of mainland Scotland did contain some evidence for these invading groups, with the results being remarkably similar for this part of Scotland as for the South of England. The outlying Scottish isles provided the most conclusive evidence of a Viking presence. In the Northern and Western Isles, as well as in the far north of the Scottish mainland, Norwegian genetic signatures were found. In Shetland and Orkney 60% of the male population had DNA of Norwegian origin, most probably passed on from the Vikings. Here the Y chromosomes of the rest of the population could be identified as similar to those of the Ancient Britons (Celts) - no evidence of an Anglo-Saxon or Danish influx was found. In a special case study, Jim Wilson looked more closely at his native Orkney. It's known that immigration from Scotland occurred in centuries between the end of direct rule from Norway and the 20th Century. The extent of this immigration could have distorted our results significantly, so Jim focussed on a sub-group who had ancient Orcadian names which would date back roughly to the time of the end of Norwegian rule. He discovered that when he did this, the proportion of Norwegian Y chromosomes increased. While it's difficult to put an exact figure on it, we can say that as a result of Jim's study, Viking input in Orkney was somewhere between 60-100%. This figure does not rule out complete replacement of the indigenous Picts by Vikings - the genocide theory suggested by Brian Smith from his study of place-names.