Thor blimey..Viking Brits
Study finds 6% in UK have DNA of rampaging warriors
IT seems the Vikings may have left more than just carnage when they rampaged through Britain – up to 6% of us could have their DNA.
And a study found the image of the blond warrior portrayed in movies such as 1958 classic The Vikings, starring Kirk Douglas, could be wrong as many of them came from south Europe or Asia. Researchers discovered male skeletons from a Viking burial site in Orkney, Scotland, were not Scandinavian. DNA sequencing of more than
400 remains from sites in Europe and Greenland has shed new light on what we know about them.
Lead author Professor Martin Sikora, from the University of Copenhagen, said: “We found Vikings as we analysed genetic influences in their DNA from southern Europe and Asia which has never been contemplated before.
“Many Vikings have high levels of non-Scandinavian ancestry, both within and outside Scandinavia, which suggest ongoing gene flow across Europe.”
Professor Eske Willerslev of Cambridge and Copenhagen universities led the study. He said: “The results change the perception of who a Viking actually was. The history books will need to be updated. No one could have predicted these significant gene flows into Scandinavia from southern Europe and Asia happened before and during the Viking Age.”
Colleague Professor Fernando Racimo added: “This is the first time we can take a detailed look at the evolution of variants under natural selection in the last 2,000 years of European history.
“The Viking genomes allow us to disentangle how selection unfolded before, during and after the movements across Europe, affecting genes associated with important traits like immunity, pigmentation and metabolism. We can also begin to infer the physical appearance of Vikings and compare them to Scandinavians di today.” The study, published in the journal Nature, showed Vikings from Norway travelled to Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and Greenland.
Those from Denmark came to England. Swedes went to Baltic countries on all-male raiding parties.
The Viking period generally refers to the period from 800AD to the 1050s.
It changes perception. History books will need to be updated
PROF ESKE WILLERSLEV STUDY CHIEF ON RESULTS