An individual with Sarmatian-related ancestry in Roman Britain

[Tautalus]

Summary

In the second century CE the Roman Empire had increasing contact with Sarmatians, nomadic Iranian speakers occupying an area stretching from the Pontic-Caspian steppe to the Carpathian mountains, both in the Caucasus and in the Danubian borders of the empire. In 175 CE, following their defeat in the Marcomannic Wars, emperor Marcus Aurelius drafted Sarmatian cavalry into Roman legions and deployed 5,500 Sarmatian soldiers to Britain, as recorded by contemporary historian Cassius Dio. Little is known about where the Sarmatian cavalry were stationed, and no individuals connected with this historically attested event have been identified to date, leaving its impact on Britain largely unknown. Here we document Caucasus- and Sarmatian-related ancestry in the whole genome of a Roman-period individual (126–228 calibrated [cal.] CE)—an outlier without traceable ancestry related to local populations in Britain—recovered from a farmstead site in present-day Cambridgeshire, UK. Stable isotopes support a life history of mobility during childhood. Although several scenarios are possible, the historical deployment of Sarmatians to Britain provides a parsimonious explanation for this individual’s extraordinary life history. Regardless of the factors behind his migrations, these results highlight how long-range mobility facilitated by the Roman Empire impacted provincial locations outside of urban centers.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01634-2​

 

[xri34]

Can you post his yDNA?

 

[Tautalus]

Can you post his yDNA?

Is in the report, is R1b-Y13369 (a sub-branch of R1b1a1b1b/R1b-Z2103).
mtDNA : K1a.

 

[Tautalus]

It was already known from Roman writers that the Romans had enlisted Sarmatian knights to fight in Britain. This confirms the presence of Sarmatians in Britain and also makes the Sarmatian connection theory, the link established between the Sarmatians in Britain and the legend of King Arthur, even more interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histo..._Artorius_Castus_and_the_Sarmatian_connection

The film King Arthur (2004) was based on this theory.

 

[steveburt]

Interesting. I am R1b Y13369 and live in England. Can trace my ancestry in England back to at least 1732. I wonder if my direct paternal line came over with the Romans.