ANCESTRY

The Norse are alive and well and living in the North West England

The Norse are alive and well and living in the North West of England. That's the revelation in a new book on an epic research project into the genetic footprint of the Scandinavian invaders.

Viking DNA: The Wirral and West Lancashire Project is the culmination of several years of research by Professor Steve Harding from the University of Nottingham, Professor Mark Jobling and Dr Turi King from the University of Leicester, and many other collaborators. It highlights the power of modern DNA methods for investigating ancestry, in this case using the North West of England as an example.

The North West has long been known to have special links with the Norse going back over a thousand years. Evidence has taken several forms such as archaeological, ancient manuscripts, local surnames and place names such as 'Thingwall' from the Old Norse 'ing-vollr' meaning 'meeting place'.

The new book tells the story of how 21st century genetic methods have been used in conjunction with historical and linguistic evidence to investigate the Norse ancestry of North West of England. DNA analysis of samples of the local population has scientifically proved that the Vikings settled in the area in large numbers and left a genetic legacy which survives and continues today.

The researchers new Norse saga unfolded as they carried out cheek swab DNA tests on around 100 men from the area who had local surnames dating back hundreds of years. Some names were sourced from a tax register from the time of King Henry VIII, others from lists of alehouse and criminal records, and a list of people who contributed to the stipend of a priest. Only men were chosen because they carry the Y-chromosome, the DNA on which, like their surname, is passed down the paternal line from father to son with little or no change.

The results found that up to 50 per cent of the DNA from the men of both Old Wirral and Old West Lancashire ancestry was indeed Norse in origin. The full scientific study appeared in the leading journal 'Molecular Biology and Evolution' but has now been put into context for a wider audience in this new, full colourillustrated book which pulls together all the evidence, both scientific and historical.

Professor Steve Harding said: "The results forming the basis of this book were very exciting because they tie in with the other evidence from the area. We have tried to explain the background and the DNA method in a way that everyone can understand, and it should be of interest to anyone who is curious about the Vikings and ancestry".

The Wirral and West Lancashire Viking DNA survey has now been extended to North Lancashire, Cumbria and over the Pennines to North Yorkshire to see how far the Norse settlers from the Irish Sea penetrated into medieval northern England. 

The researchers are also collaborating with experts in Scandinavia focusing again on people who can show that their ancestry goes back many generations in particular parts of Scandinavia. In this way they will be able to get a much better idea of what the genetic profile of Scandinavia was like in the Viking age. 

Viking DNA: The Wirral and West Lancashire Project (ISBN 978-1907284946) has been published by Nottingham University Press

Read more : http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/01/2011/a-new-norse-saga-dna-detectives-find-vikings#ixzz1Q1JefMdO

One thing I do know for sure without an academic department investigating: it had nothing to do with Pakistanis or black Africans. 

http://radiofreebritain.blogspot.com/2011/06/norse-are-alive-and-well-and-living-in.html

Morg
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