G Persons in Britain prior to
the Roman Era? Some articles and Internet
postings written a few years ago referred to persons with G haplogroup being
present in
a somewhat
higher percentage among some of the Celtic areas of Britain. (See, for
example, this posting ) The
current understanding seems to be that these "G individuals" in
these earlier studies were probably misclassified.
In a theory unrelated to
these misclassifications, researcher Stephen Oppenheimer has proposed
recently that a very high percentage of modern residents of the British
Isles are descended from ancestors who arrived there prior to the Roman
Empire. The genetics-based studies prior to Oppenheimer had suggested
instead that later invasions displaced much of the original
population of eastern England.
Oppenheimer actually almost ignores the
less common haplogroups G, E3b and J in his book, but suggests these folks
also came before the Roman Empire. Much of his data consists of short
haplotypes combined with corresponding haplogroup
information. His most specific comment about the time of
origin of haplogroup E3b relates to data showing about 5 persons
within a tiny 18-person sample from the town of Abergele,
Wales, being tested as E3b (pp. 232, 479) and that the
overall picture, according to him, is that this and other haplogroups
found in Britain point to an early emigraton from Spain. He
comments that "the larger nearby Llangeli sample shares similar lines..."
and that random chance could not explain this. However, the Llangeli
sample of
which he speaks is from the Capelli study where E3b was only 4 percent of 80
samples in which no G was detected. Capelli found a number of
other sites in England and Wales with similar E3b percentages to those in
Llangeli. Oppenheimer is likely to have his fans, but his evidence for
early arrival of E3b and other uncommon haplogroups such as G is apparently
based only on the results from five men whose ancestors may or may
not have lived in this same town since the Iron Age. This does not
invalidate his theories involving
the more common haplogroups in Britain, but more
substantial evidence for the early arrival of the uncommon
haplgroups would be desirable.
Most G Entered Britain
in Roman Period? A small
study in which I am engaged involves use of a substantial number of slowly
mutating markers to compare the various British haplogroups. The
purpose is to determine how distant genetically various types of haplogroups
within Britain are from persons on the continent. Early results indicate
that much of haplogroup G may have entered Britain during the Roman
Empire. I do not have great confidence in the ability
of the Fluxus software (used to calculate time differences
between genetic samples) to calculate accurate time differences in
antiquity. However, the time differences seen among the haplogroups in Britain suggest generally when each
entered Britain in the last 8,000 years. These calculations will likely
undergo revisions during 2008 with better estimates as more samples have
become available. In 2007 it was determined that some G subgroups
definitely would have arrived in Britain,
especially in Wales, in
the Middle Ages. Note: this page has not been revised to reflect
the availability of a sample from the Caucasus Mtns. in 2008 that shows a
more recent common ancestor for some of
these men in the original
sample.
In addition, an examination of the DNA results of
the almost 200 presumed northwestern European G persons
listed in the Y-Search and Sorenson DNA databases in early 2006 indicated
(a) significant overlap with the G DNA profiles of continental Europe and
(b) the lack of wide DNA diversity within the regional G pattern that
would be expected if G people had made their way into Britain in the
pre-Roman occupation in any numbers. A quick review
of the uncommon E3b and J2 haplogroups in Wales and
England in the Y-Search database in November 2006 failed to detect a
similar pattern as seen in the G, but this has not been properly studied in
this regard. [One study, among other things,
similarly found much genetic diversity among a long-inhabited area
of Wales, but little diversity to the
east in an area settled by supposed recent
invaders from the continent.]
For sure, there are only a few G
samples available from Scotland, strongly indicating G people did not
intermingle with the original Scots at an early day. A new,
large Irish study published in late 2005 by Moore et al
indicated that G persons were less than 1% of the
population there. So both Ireland and
Scotland seemingly have a smaller G population than Wales and
England. This is consistent with the
Roman or
later settlement
pattern.
G persons are much better
represented in Wales than in Scotland and Ireland. G DNA does
not form an
isolated geographical cluster in Wales, as would be
expected if very early G people had mixed with the Welsh-speaking
groups in the pre-Christian period. A high percentage of
southern Welsh G persons belong to a single genetic
cluster (clade) which seems to have a common male ancestor living
conservatively about the time of the Norman invasion in the 11th
century or in later centuries. This clade also seems to share a common
male ancestor with significant numbers of persons in Germany and Switzerland
within 1,500 years
and with a person from the country of Georgia about 2,500 years
ago.
Near genetic G
relatives of the Welsh clade are also found in England together with some less
closely
related G persons.
The Romans were
the first occupiers who controlled large parts of the English
island. They did not consciously try to exterminate the native peoples
of England during their stay.
Some of Iazyges Sarmatians Go to
England In another section of this website, the
connection between Alan Sarmatians and a high percentage of haplogroup G in
North Ossetia today is discussed. Because of this connection, the
Iazyges Sarmatians might have also been predominantly G persons.
Roman
Emporer Hadrian had built his famous wall in far northern England in
122 C.E. And later Emporer Marcus Aurelius sought to solve a
manpower problem by sending 5,500 men from the Iazyges tribe of
Sarmatians in the Balkans to work in England as hired
cavalrymen, 500 men to a unit (p
37
). It is not known how many of their people the
Iazyges left behind in the Balkans. It is said Sarmatians also
contributed 2,500 other cavalrymen for unspecificed locations in the Roman
Empire. The Sarmatian mercenaries in England were subsequently
known to be part of the Roman army sent in 184 C. E. to put down an
Armorican uprising across the English Channel in central
France. Hadrian's Wall was in use until the 400s. One
source thinks that when the Romans left England the Sarmatians
retired to Lancashire; another says Cumbria—both in northwestern
England. The Cumbrian area was supposedly the residence of
the lengendary, perhaps mythical, King Arthur. The Sarmatian
mythology does have some overlap into the Arthurian legends, including
related stories. Traditional Sarmatian religion worshiped a sword, and the
sword in the lake is prominent in the Arthurian tales. (see
Anderson, Lupack and Littleton references in the bibliography for
extensive coverage of Arthurian-Sarmatian connections.) There does not
seem to be any study mentioning anything about the Sarmatian presence in
England after the Roman times.
Sarmatian Geographic Patterns in
England. If the Sarmatians moved primarily to Lancashire
and Cumbria in northwestern England when the Romans left and then became
agriculturalists, one would expect to find a large cluster of G
persons there. This cluster does not exist. DNA information
and pedigree information for this narrative were extracted in early 2006
pertaining to more than 200 "G families" whose results are
posted at the Sorenson and YSearch databases. All results
are close approximations to confirmed G and G2a DNA marker values. Where
there was some question about an odd combination, the values were checked in
Dr. Whit Athey's haplogroup
calculator and still achieved rather high G scores—much higher than for
other halpogroups. Some families had multiple members with
results, but only the most complete of the similar marker values for that
surname was used.
Many submissions to the databases did not identify
the ancestral home in Britain of those with British ancestors. There
were 52 samples with either British surnames or identified British
locations of origin. Of these 52, a total of 27 identified the
location of origin. The resulting pattern shows several persons
originating in each area of England and Wales. As noted, there
were just a few men from Ireland and Scotland listed.
Some Irishmen are descended from migrants from the English
island after the Middle Ages, and their names often differ from Celtic
Irish names. It is possible that descendants of Scots
and the native Irish have been less interested in providing DNA
samples, but this does not seem likely in the case of the Scots, at least.
In general, also, the sample size available is not large for those who
listed precise origins, and this makes it difficult to feel confident of the
results pertaining to geographical distribution in Britain.
The
failure to find a geographical cluster of G people within England
and Wales does not rule out a Sarmatian core group from the Roman period
persisting there. There are some factors in favor of this
persistence. (1) There are very few DNA participants from
group G originating in Ireland and Scotland with Irish and
Scottish names. Romans did not occupy Ireland and were eventually
pushed out of Scotland. (2) It is unlikely that the
Sarmatians only worked as mercenaries at Hadrian's
Wall. The Romans likely scattered them about.
There was one known Sarmatian group in Wales, for example. In
the last century of the Roman occupation, the Romans significantly
reduced their northern garrisons to counter threats to the coast around
England. (3) The conflicts with the Anglo-Saxon invaders may
have caused some additional, later population dispersal. (4)
There has been some wandering around England since the Middle Ages by
individuals, especially among the upper classes.
Although historians
have been most interested in Hadrian's Wall, the Romans maintained forts
and camps all over England and Wales. There were also some in
Scotland, but the Scots seem to have eventually expelled all the Romans and
their allies from Scotland. Map of Roman
military camps and forts in Britain. Their method
of occupation consisted of detached forts in strategic locations, each
garrisoned by 500 to 1,000 men. Large cavalry units were rare, so Sarmatians likely were
split up into 11 auxiliary alae of 500 men, or into even smaller
units and sent to various locations.
There was a tendency to abandon
forts in peaceful areas. Toward the end of the Roman occupation, they
invested resources in establishing new forts and camps along the coasts
to discourage raids by Saxon, Irish and Pict pirates.
Hadrian's wall and the northern
border were somewhat abandoned by the end of the Roman
occupation (p 394-6) by the late 300s in favor of problem areas
farther south, and the composition of units became less structured.
Page 396 in this source has a map of the shore forts. [Recent
archeological excavations of late Roman "forts" in southeastern
England question if these forts had any miliary value and suggest
that they were used as administrative centers instead.] Soldiers did
not serve for life, and at least a few (or perhaps many)
veterans likely remained in Britain. One author
estimated that half of those discharged from the Roman legions stayed
at their stations on the frontier and became farmers. (Elton, p. 56)
Determining whether the Sarmatians
in Roman Britain stayed in England-Wales or migrated back later from
old Sarmatian areas in France and Belgium to Britain is not so
easy. Some of the British G could also have originated with Middle
Eastern mercenaries that the Romans stationed in Britain. The several thousand
Sarmatian mercenaries in England-Wales would have been a tiny portion
of the estimated 4 million inhabitants in Roman times. It would seem
that some additional continental immigration would be needed to raise the G
percentage to even 1% unless there were genetic or situational factors that
allowed the G persons to be survive better than others. There
was a shrinkage of the British population during the Dark Ages.
The More
Recent Invasions of Britain The invasions of Britain have
significance because one of the key questions in study of the migrations of
G persons of northwestern Europe is which of these invasions in the
Current Era might have provided the opportunity for the G persons
to get into Britain. The pedigrees provided with the various DNA samples
of G persons suggest much of the migration to Britain
likely took place before the year 1300 at the latest
as an
approximation.
It is now known
that the other invaders during the next ten centuries after the Romans did
displace some natives from the British outer islands, far northern
Scotland and to a significant extent from the eastern half
of the
English part of Britain during their invasions. (a)
TheAnglo-Saxon and Jute
invaders from northern Germany, southern
Denmark and the northwestern coast of the North Sea took advantage of the
Roman loss of control in Britian and pushed out natives from the
central and eastern portions of England—but not entirely.
Study showing a substantial migration of Anglo-Saxon Y chromosomes into
central England , displacing 50 to 100 % of the gene
pool, but not affecting northern Wales. [This study also has a good explanation
of the loss of support recently for earlier theories of much earlier,
largescale invasions of the British Isles.] The Anglo-Saxons did
apparently settle in small parts of Wales also. But Oppenheimer in
his recent book
argues that these newcomers were mostly elites who took over
leadership of pre-existing populations. (b) The later Danish Vikings established settlements
in northeastern England. The Norwegian Vikings
settled in the outer islands
and northern Scotland. (c) It seems universally
agreed that the final invaders, the Normans, in 1066 apparently were more
interested in occupation than population displacement. (H. Kearney,
The British Isles: A History of Four Nations, 1898; N. Davies, The
Isles: A History, Macmillan, London, 1999, Oppenheimer, pp. 400-05)
The Normans were a mixture of Danish Vikings and local residents of
today's northwestern France and brought with them some
workers from today's Low Countries. The G
persons now known to have entered Wales and England in the Middle Ages could
have come this route
or as Flemish merchants. (d) A significant group of
Protestant Huguenots left
France beginning in the 1500s and were said to have
changed their surnames on
arrival in England.
There is not much agreement on the genetic profiles of
Norman invaders or Huguenot migrants.
But the Capelli study provides DNA information for both Anglo-Saxon
and Viking settlement patterns as determined by a DNA sampling of multiple
British locations. The authors argue that the DNA composition
of central England was most heavily changed by the invasions, with lowland
Scotland and southern England the least affected. In contrast,
Oppenheimer argues that these same areas had these DNA profiles for a much
longer period. My own early study results suggest that most
Viking-related DNA (especially haplogroup
I1a)
mostly entered Britain after the Roman period.
Much
smaller population displacements have been caused by such
affairs as the capture of St. Patrick and other dwellers on the western
coast of England by Irish raiders and later by the importation of some German
miners into Cumbria in northwestern England after the period of the
invasions. Also the Belgae of today's Low Countries are thought to
have made a small settlement of east-central England just before the Roman
occupation (as verified by Caesar in his writings) or were there even
earlier, according to Oppenheimer.
Verification of the composition
of the invaders and migrants in Britain must await the results of
widespread DNA testing of old skeletal remains.
Because of slave raids,
small international migrations and other means, it will be expected that
occasionally men with the cluster values will appear in odd
locations.