Just Finished Reading: Blood of the Isles – Exploring the Genetic Roots of our Tribal History by Bryan Sykes (FP: 2006) [339pp] 

This is apparently the first ever book published on the genetic heritage of the British Isles. Previously, the foundations of the Isles have either been shrouded in myth, based on sometimes questionable historic documents or, going back into deep history, evidence from archaeological sites and ancient monuments. The question for the author, and his scientific team from Oxford University, was both what they could add to this story and what they could clarify. For example, how much change did the Anglo-Saxon migration to the British mainland accomplish? Was it, as some historians portray, a series of invasions (complete with significant displacement or replacement of locals) or was it a more gradual and much more peaceful process. Other questions revolve around the impact – partial or not – of the Viking occupation of North-western England for several centuries and, naturally, the long-term impact of the Norman Invasion in 1066 (to say nothing of the much earlier Roman occupation). 

Interestingly, for a science Geek like me, the author went to great lengths to show the team’s work – essentially how they went about collecting a significantly large number of samples from across the Isles. Back in those days [grin] the knowledge and appreciation of genetic fingerprints was much lower than it is today. So, first they had to convince people to hand over their genetic data which, naturally, they thought would be a hard sell. It turned out to be nothing of the sort. Using the opportunity to speak to people at their local Blood Transfusion Service, they asked if they could have some of their blood and asked for any ancestry details that they were willing to divulge. Almost everyone without exception said YES. Again, back in those days it took somewhat longer to derive results from the samples, so the project was a long one. But once the results began being complied it was clear that the effort and the wait were worth it. 

It would seem that the genetic make-up of the Isles has changed very little – despite all of the known historical events – from the original pre-Roman ‘base’. Not only did the Romans have a negligible impact on the British/English genome it had, as we might expect, none in Wales, Ireland or Scotland. A good part of the explanation for this was that the majority of Roman soldiers based in Britain were not in fact Italian but, rather, Germanic or from Gaul – the very peoples that had either already settled in Britain or who would shortly do so. Interestingly, the Viking occupation of the Danelaw also had only a slight impact on the local DNA. This was, again as you might suspect, significantly more pronounced – though still only a minority stake – in places like the Shetland Islands and parts of west Scotland. One thing that made me smile, being a fan on the Anglo-Saxons, was the fact that the Norman Invasion barely registered on the countries DNA despite the deaths of many of the Anglo-Saxon great and good. It would seem that the Norman DNA (which was essentially Scandinavian DNA already here) wasn’t different enough to show up in the results. From my own personal view – that of my Irish and Scottish ancestry – the author confirmed what I had already come across in various books on the subject, that the west of Ireland and the east of Scotland have had a LONG history of mixing which might just explain at least some of my Scottish DNA. 

If you’re looking into your ancestry from these islands – including England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – you could do far worse than start here. This will certainly give you a good grounding in the genetic history of those countries as well as some appreciation of how things changed over time and the general movement of peoples into and within the British Isles. More to come. Recommended. 

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