title: Genomic signals of migration and continuity in Britain before the Anglo-Saxons.
abstract: The purported migrations that have formed the peoples of Britain have been the focus of generations of scholarly controversy. However, this has not benefited from direct analyses of ancient genomes. Here we report nine ancient genomes (∼ 1 ×) of individuals from northern Britain: seven from a Roman era York cemetery, bookended by earlier Iron-Age and later Anglo-Saxon burials. Six of the Roman genomes show affinity with modern British Celtic populations, particularly Welsh, but significantly diverge from populations from Yorkshire and other eastern English samples. They also show similarity with the earlier Iron-Age genome, suggesting population continuity, but differ from the later Anglo-Saxon genome. This pattern concords with profound impact of migrations in the Anglo-Saxon period. Strikingly, one Roman skeleton shows a clear signal of exogenous origin, with affinities pointing towards the Middle East, confirming the cosmopolitan character of the Empire, even at its northernmost fringes.
authors.affiliation: Smurfit Institute of Genetics, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martiniano
authors.affiliation: York Osteoarchaeology Ltd, 75 Main Street, Bishop Wilton, York YO42 1SR, UK.|Department of Archaeology, Dawson Building, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
authors.forename: Anwen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caffell
authors.affiliation: York Osteoarchaeology Ltd, 75 Main Street, Bishop Wilton, York YO42 1SR, UK.|BioArCh, Biology, S Block, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK.
authors.forename: Malin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holst
authors.affiliation: York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited, 47 Aldwark, York YO1 7BX, UK.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hunter-Mann
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, Dawson Building, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights PO Box 227, Reading RG6 6AB, UK.
authors.forename: Gundula
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Müldner
authors.affiliation: Smurfit Institute of Genetics, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Russell L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
authors.affiliation: Smurfit Institute of Genetics, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Teasdale
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wouter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van Rheenen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Veldink
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Leonard H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: van den Berg
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Neurology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Orla
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hardiman
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield S1 4ET, UK.
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.affiliation: BioArCh, Biology, S Block, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roskams
authors.affiliation: City of York Council, York YO1 6GA, UK.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oxley
authors.affiliation: BioArCh, Biology, S Block, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK.
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.affiliation: York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited, 47 Aldwark, York YO1 7BX, UK.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McDonnell
authors.affiliation: BioArCh, Biology, S Block, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Smurfit Institute of Genetics, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Daniel G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Bradley
mesh_terms: D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005828:Genetics, Population; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D006113:United Kingdom; D044465:White People