Category Archives: Vikings

2021 Favorite Articles

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It’s that time of the year again when we welcome the next year.

2021 was markedly different than anything that came before. (Is that ever an understatement!)

Maybe you had more time for genealogy and spent time researching!

So, what did we read in 2021? Which of my blog articles were the most popular?

In reverse order, beginning with number 10, we have:

This timeless article published in 2015 explains how to calculate the amount of any specific heritage you carry based on your ancestors.

Just something fun that’s like your regular pedigree chart, except color coded locations instead of ancestors. Here’s mine

The Autosegment Triangulation Cluster Tool is a brand new tool introduced in October 2021. Created by Genetic Affairs for GEDmatch, this tool combines autoclusters and triangulation.

Many people don’t realize that we actually don’t inherit exactly 25% of our DNA from each grandparent, nor why.

This enlightening article co-authored with statistician Philip Gammon explains how this works, and why it affects all of your matches.

Who doesn’t love learning about ancient DNA and the messages it conveys. Does your Y or mitochondrial DNA match any of these burials? Take a look. You might be surprised.

How can you tell if you are full or half siblings with another person? You might think this is a really straightforward question with an easy answer, but it isn’t. And trust me, if you EVER find yourself in a position of needing to know, you really need to know urgently.

Using simple match, it’s easy to figure how much of your ancestor’s DNA you “should” have, but that’s now how inheritance actually works. This article explains why and shows different inheritance scenarios.

That 28 day timer has expired, but the article can still be useful in terms of educating yourself. This should also be read in conjunction with Ancestry Retreats, by Judy Russell.

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say that their ethnicity percentages were “wrong,” I’d be a rich woman, living in a villa in sun-drenched Tuscany😊

This extremely popular article has either been first or second every year since it was published. Ethnicity is both exciting and perplexing.

As genealogists, the first thing we need to do is to calculate what, according to our genealogy, we would expect those percentages to be. Of course, we also need to factor in the fact that we don’t inherit exactly the same amount of DNA from each grandparent. I explain how I calculated my “expected” percentages of ethnicity based on my known tree. That’s the best place to start.

Please note that I am no longer updating the vendor comparison charts in the article. Some vendors no longer release updates to the entire database at the same time, and some “tweak” results periodically without making an announcement. You’ll need to compare your own results at the different vendors at the same point in time to avoid comparing apples and oranges.

The #1 Article for 2021 is…

  1. Proving Native American Ancestry Using DNA

This article has either been first (7 times) or second (twice) for 9 years running. Now you know why I chose this topic for my new book, DNA for Native American Genealogy.

If you’re searching for your Native American ancestry, I’ve provided step-by-step instructions, both with and without some percentage of Native showing in your autosomal DNA percentages.

Make 2022 a Great Year!

Here’s wishing you the best in 2022. I hope your brick walls cave. What are you doing to help that along? Do you have a strategy in mind?

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Thank you so much.

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Y DNA Resources and Repository

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I’ve created a Y DNA resource page with the information in this article, here, as a permanent location where you can find Y DNA information in one place – including:

  • Step-by-step guides about how to utilize Y DNA for your genealogy
  • Educational articles and links to the latest webinars
  • Articles about the science behind Y DNA
  • Ancient DNA
  • Success stories

Please feel free to share this resource or any of the links to individual articles with friends, genealogy groups, or on social media.

If you haven’t already taken a Y DNA test, and you’re a male (only males have a Y chromosome,) you can order one here. If you also purchase the Family Finder, autosomal test, those results can be used to search together.

What is Y DNA?

Y DNA is passed directly from fathers to their sons, as illustrated by the blue arrow, above. Daughters do not inherit the Y chromosome. The Y chromosome is what makes males, male.

Every son receives a Y chromosome from his father, who received it from his father, and so forth, on up the direct patrilineal line.

Comparatively, mitochondrial DNA, the pink arrow, is received by both sexes of children from the mother through the direct matrilineal line.

Autosomal DNA, the green arrow, is a combination of randomly inherited DNA from many ancestors that is inherited by both sexes of children from both parents. This article explains a bit more.

Y DNA has Unique Properties

The Y chromosome is never admixed with DNA from the mother, so the Y chromosome that the son receives is identical to the father’s Y chromosome except for occasional minor mutations that take place every few generations.

This lack of mixture with the mother’s DNA plus the occasional mutation is what makes the Y chromosome similar enough to match against other men from the same ancestors for hundreds or thousands of years back in time, and different enough to be useful for genealogy. The mutations can be tracked within extended families.

In western cultures, the Y chromosome path of inheritance is usually the same as the surname, which means that the Y chromosome is uniquely positioned to identify the direct biological patrilineal lineage of males.

Two different types of Y DNA tests can be ordered that work together to refine Y DNA results and connect testers to other men with common ancestors.

FamilyTreeDNA provides STR tests with their 37, 67 and 111 marker test panels, and comprehensive STR plus SNP testing with their Big Y-700 test.

click to enlarge

STR markers are used for genealogy matching, while SNP markers work with STR markers to refine genealogy further, plus provide a detailed haplogroup.

Think of a haplogroup as a genetic clan that tells you which genetic family group you belong to – both today and historically, before the advent of surnames.

This article, What is a Haplogroup? explains the basic concept of how haplogroups are determined.

In addition to the Y DNA test itself, Family Tree DNA provides matching to other testers in their database plus a group of comprehensive tools, shown on the dashboard above, to help testers utilize their results to their fullest potential.

You can order or upgrade a Y DNA test, here. If you also purchase the Family Finder, autosomal test, those results can be used to search together.

Step-by-Step – Using Your Y DNA Results

Let’s take a look at all of the features, functions, and tools that are available on your FamilyTreeDNA personal page.

What do those words mean? Here you go!

Come along while I step through evaluating Big Y test results.

Big Y Testing and Results

Why would you want to take a Big Y test and how can it help you?

While the Big Y-500 has been superseded by the Big Y-700 test today, you will still be interested in some of the underlying technology. STR matching still works the same way.

The Big Y-500 provided more than 500 STR markers and the Big Y-700 provides more than 700 – both significantly more than the 111 panel. The only way to receive these additional markers is by purchasing the Big Y test.

I have to tell you – I was skeptical when the Big Y-700 was introduced as the next step above the Big Y-500. I almost didn’t upgrade any kits – but I’m so very glad that I did. I’m not skeptical anymore.

This Y DNA tree rocks. A new visual format with your matches listed on their branches. Take a look!

Educational Articles

I’ve been writing about DNA for years and have selected several articles that you may find useful.

What kinds of information are available if you take a Y DNA test, and how can you use it for genealogy?

What if your father isn’t available to take a DNA test? How can you determine who else to test that will reveal your father’s Y DNA information?

Family Tree DNA shows the difference in the number of mutations between two men as “genetic distance.” Learn what that means and how it’s figured in this article.

Of course, there were changes right after I published the original Genetic Distance article. The only guarantees in life are death, taxes, and that something will change immediately after you publish.

Sometimes when we take DNA tests, or others do, we discover the unexpected. That’s always a possibility. Here’s the story of my brother who wasn’t my biological brother. If you’d like to read more about Dave’s story, type “Dear Dave” into the search box on my blog. Read the articles in publication order, and not without a box of Kleenex.

Often, what surprise matches mean is that you need to dig further.

The words paternal and patrilineal aren’t the same thing. Paternal refers to the paternal half of your family, where patrilineal is the direct father to father line.

Just because you don’t have any surname matches doesn’t necessarily mean it’s because of what you’re thinking.

Short tandem repeats (STRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) aren’t the same thing and are used differently in genealogy.

Piecing together your ancestor’s Y DNA from descendants.

Haplogroups are something like our pedigree charts.

What does it mean when you have a zero for a marker value?

There’s more than one way to break down that brick wall. Here’s how I figured out which of 4 sons was my ancestor.

Just because you match the right line autosomally doesn’t mean it’s because you descend from the male child you think is your ancestor. Females gave their surnames to children born outside of a legal marriage which can lead to massive confusion. This is absolutely why you need to test the Y DNA of every single ancestral line.

When the direct patrilineal line isn’t the line you’re expecting.

You can now tell by looking at the flags on the haplotree where other people’s ancestral lines on your branch are from. This is especially useful if you’ve taken the Big Y test and can tell you if you’re hunting in the right location.

If you’re just now testing or tested in 2018 or after, you don’t need to read this article unless you’re interested in the improvements to the Big Y test over the years.

2019 was a banner year for discovery. 2020 was even more so, keeping up an amazing pace. I need to write a 2020 update article.

What is a terminal SNP? Hint – it’s not fatal😊

How the TIP calculator works and how to best interpret the results. Note that this tool is due for an update that incorporates more markers and SNP results too.

You can view the location of the Y DNA and mitochondrial DNA ancestors of people whose ethnicity you match.

Tools and Techniques

This free public tree is amazing, showing locations of each haplogroup and totals by haplogroup and country, including downstream branches.

Need to search for and find Y DNA candidates when you don’t know anyone from that line? Here’s how.

Yes, it’s still possible to resolve this issue using autosomal DNA. Non-matching Y DNA isn’t the end of the road, just a fork.

Science Meets Genealogy – Including Ancient DNA

Haplogroup C was an unexpected find in the Americas and reaches into South America.

Haplogroup C is found in several North American tribes.

Haplogroup C is found as far east as Nova Scotia.

Test by test, we made progress.

New testers, new branches. The research continues.

The discovery of haplogroup A00 was truly amazing when it occurred – the base of the phylotree in Africa.

The press release about the discovery of haplogroup A00.

In 2018, a living branch of A00 was discovered in Africa, and in 2020, an ancient DNA branch.

Did you know that haplogroups weren’t always known by their SNP names?

This brought the total of SNPs discovered by Family Tree DNA in mid-2018 to 153,000. I should contact the Research Center to see how many they have named at the end of 2020.

An academic paper split ancient haplogroup D, but then the phylogenetic research team at FamilyTreeDNA split it twice more! This might not sound exciting until you realize this redefines what we know about early man, in Africa and as he emerged from Africa.

Ancient DNA splits haplogroup P after analyzing the remains of two Jehai people from West Malaysia.

For years I doubted Kennewick Man’s DNA would ever be sequenced, but it finally was. Kennewick Man’s mitochondrial DNA haplogroup is X2a and his Y DNA was confirmed to Q-M3 in 2015.

Compare your own DNA to Vikings!

Twenty-seven Icelandic Viking skeletons tell a very interesting story.

Irish ancestors? Check your DNA and see if you match.

Ancestors from Hungary or Italy? Take a look. These remains have matches to people in various places throughout Europe.

The Y DNA story is no place near finished. Dr. Miguel Vilar, former Lead Scientist for National Geographic’s Genographic Project provides additional analysis and adds a theory.

Webinars

Y DNA Webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars – a 90-minute webinar for those who prefer watching to learn! It’s not free, but you can subscribe here.

Success Stories and Genealogy Discoveries

Almost everyone has their own Y DNA story of discovery. Because the Y DNA follows the surname line, Y DNA testing often helps push those lines back a generation, or two, or four. When STR markers fail to be enough, we can turn to the Big Y-700 test which provides SNP markers down to the very tip of the leaves in the Y DNA tree. Often, but not always, family-defining SNP branches will occur which are much more stable and reliable than STR mutations – although SNPs and STRs should be used together.

Methodologies to find ancestral lines to test, or maybe descendants who have already tested.

DNA testing reveals an unexpected mystery several hundred years old.

When I write each of my “52 Ancestor” stories, I include genetic information, for the ancestor and their descendants, when I can. Jacob was special because, in addition to being able to identify his autosomal DNA, his Y DNA matches the ancient DNA of the Yamnaya people. You can read about his Y DNA story in Jakob Lenz (1748-1821), Vinedresser.

Please feel free to add your success stories in the comments.

What About You?

You never know what you’re going to discover when you test your Y DNA. If you’re a female, you’ll need to find a male that descends from the line you want to test via all males to take the Y DNA test on your behalf. Of course, if you want to test your father’s line, your father, or a brother through that father, or your uncle, your father’s brother, would be good candidates.

What will you be able to discover? Who will the earliest known ancestor with that same surname be among your matches? Will you be able to break down a long-standing brick wall? You’ll never know if you don’t test.

You can click here to upgrade an existing test or order a Y DNA test.

Share the Love

You can always forward these articles to friends or share by posting links on social media. Who do you know that might be interested?

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Books

Most Popular Articles of 2020

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We all know that 2020 was a year like no other, right? So, what were we reading this year as we spent more time at home?

According to my blog stats, these are the ten most popular articles of 2020.

2020 Rank Blog Article Name Publication Date/Comment
1 Concepts – Calculating Ethnicity Percentages Jan 11, 2017
2 Proving Native American Ancestry Using DNA December 18, 2012
3 Ancestry to Remove DNA Matches Soon – Preservation Strategies with Detailed Instructions Now obsolete article – July 16, 2020
4 Ancestral DNA Percentages – How Much of Them is in You? June 27, 2017
5 Full or Half Siblings? April 3, 2019
6 442 Ancient Viking Skeletons Hold DNA Surprises – Does Your Y or Mitochondrial DNA Match? September 18, 2020
7 Migration Pedigree Chart March 25, 2016
8 DNA Inherited from Grandparents and Great-Grandparents January 14, 2020
9 Optimizing Your Tree at Ancestry for More Hints and DNA ThruLines February 22, 2020
10 Phylogenetic Tree of Novel Coronavirus (hCoV-19) Covid-19 March 12, 2020

Half of these articles were published this year, and half are older.

One article is now obsolete. The Ancestry purge has already happened, so there’s nothing to be done now.

Let’s take a look at the rest and what messages might be held in these popular selections.

Ethnicity

I’m not the least bit surprised by ethnicity being the most popular topic, nor that Concepts – Calculating Ethnicity Percentages is the most popular article. Not only is ethnicity a perennially favorite, but all four major vendors introduced something new this year.

By the way, my perennial caveat still applies – ethnicity is only an estimate😊

While Genetic Groups isn’t actually ethnicity, per se, it’s a layer on top of ethnicity that provides you with locations where your ancestors might have been from and migrated to, based on genetic clusters. Clusters are defined by the locations of ancestors of other people within that genetic cluster.

There’s actually good news at 23andMe. Since this article was published in October, 23andMe has indeed updated the V3 and V4 kits with new ethnicity updates. 23andMe had originally stated they weren’t going to do that, clearly in the hope that people would pay to retest by purchasing the V5 Health + Ancestry test. I’m so glad to see their reversal.

Viewing the older V2 kits, the “updated” date at the bottom of their Ancestry Composition page says they were updated on December 9th or 10th, but I don’t see a difference and they don’t have the “updated” icon like the V3 and V4 kits do.

23andMe made another reversal too and also restored the original matches. They had reduced the number of matches to 1500 for non-Health+Ancestry testers who don’t also subscribe. If you wanted between 1500 and 5000 matches, you had to retest and subscribe for $29 per year. (It’s worth noting that I have over 5000 matches at all of the other vendors.)

To date, 23andMe has restored previous matches and also restored some but not all of the search functionality that they had removed.

What isn’t clear is whether 23andMe will continue to add to this number of matches until the tester reaches the earlier limit of 2000, or whether they have simply restored the previous matches, but the match total will not increase unless you have a subscription.

Consumer feedback works – so thanks to everyone who provided feedback to 23andMe.

Native American Ancestry

The article, Proving Native American Ancestry Using DNA, written 8 years ago, only 5 months after launching this blog, has been in the top 10 every year since I’ve been counting.

I created a Native American reference and resource page too, which you can find here.

I’ll also be publishing some new articles after the first of the year which I promise you’ll find VERY INTERESTING. Something to look forward to.

Understanding Autosomal DNA

2020 has seen more people delving into genealogy + DNA testing which means they need to understand both the results and the concepts underlying their results.

Whooohooo – more people in the pool. Jump on in – the water’s fine!

The articles Ancestral DNA Percentages – How Much of Them is in You? and DNA Inherited from Grandparents and Great-Grandparents both explain how DNA is passed from your ancestors to you.

These are great basic articles if you’re looking to help someone new, and so is First Steps When Your DNA Results are Ready – Sticking Your Toe in the Genealogy Water.

I always look forward to the end of January because there will be lots of matches from holiday gifts being posted. Feel free to forward any of these articles to your new matches. It’s always fun helping new people because you just never know when they might be able to help you.

Surprises

With more and more people testing, more and more people are receiving “surprises” in their results. Need to figure out the difference between full and half-siblings? Then Full or Half Siblings? is the article for you.

Trying to discern other relationships? My favorite tool is the Shared cM Project tool at DNAPainter, here.

Vikings

Who doesn’t want to know if they are related to the ancient Vikings??? You can make that discovery in the article, 442 Ancient Viking Skeletons Hold DNA Surprises – Does Your Y or Mitochondrial DNA Match?. Not only is this just plain fun, but I snuck in a little education too.

Of course, you’ll need to have your Y DNA or mitochondrial DNA results, which you can easily order, here. If you’re unsure and would like to read a short article about the different kinds of DNA and how they can help you, 4 Kinds of DNA for Genetic Genealogy is perfect.

Do you think your DNA isn’t Viking because your ancestors aren’t from Scandinavia? Guess again!

Those Vikings didn’t stay home, and they didn’t restrict their escapades to the British Isles either.

This drawing depicts Viking ships besieging Paris in the year 845. Vikings voyaged into Russia and as far as the Mediterranean.

Have a child studying at home? This might be an interesting topic!

Migration Pedigree Chart

Another just plain fun idea is the Migration Pedigree Chart.

I created this migration pedigree chart in a spreadsheet, but you can also create a pedigree chart in genealogy software with whatever “names” you want. This will also help you figure out the estimated percentages of ethnicity you might reasonably expect.

Another idea for helping kids learn at home and they might accidentally learn about figuring percentages in the process.

ThruLines

ThruLines is the Ancestry tool that assists DNA testers with trees connect the dots to common ancestors with their matches. There are ways to optimize your tree to improve your connections, both in terms of accuracy and the number of Thrulines that form.

Optimizing Your Tree at Ancestry for More Hints and DNA ThruLines provides step by step instructions, which reminds me – I need to write a similar article for MyHeritage’s Theories of Family Relativity. I keep meaning to…

Covid

You know, it wouldn’t be 2020 if I didn’t HAVE to mention that word.

I’m glad to know that people were and hopefully still are educating themselves about Covid. Phylogenetic Tree of Novel Coronavirus (hCoV-19) Covid-19 reflected early information about the novel virus and our first efforts to sequence the DNA. Of course, as expected, just like any other organism, mutations have occurred since then.

Goodness knows, we are all tired of Covid and the resulting safety protocols. Keep on keeping on. We need you on the other side.

Stay home, mask up when you must leave, stay away from other people outside your family that you live with, wash your hands, and get vaccinated as soon as you can.

And until we can all see each other in person again, hopefully, sooner than later, keep on doing genealogy.

Locked in the Library

Be careful what you ask for.

Remember that dream where you’re locked in a library? Remember saying you don’t have enough time for genealogy?

Well, now you are and now you do.

The library is your desk with your computer or maybe your laptop on a picnic table in the yard.

DNA results, matches, and research tools are the books and you’re officially locked in for at least a few more weeks. Free articles like these are your guide.

Hmmm, pandemic isolation doesn’t sound so bad now, does it??

We’ll just rename it “genealogy library lock-in.”

Happy New Year!

What can you discover?

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Books

442 Ancient Viking Skeletons Hold DNA Surprises – Does Your Y or Mitochondrial DNA Match? Daily Updates Here!

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Yesterday, in the journal Nature, the article “Population genomics of the Viking world,” was published by Margaryan, et al, a culmination of 6 years of work.

Just hours later, Science Daily published the article, “World’s largest DNA sequencing of Viking skeletons reveals they weren’t all Scandinavian.” Science magazine published “’Viking’ was a job description, not a matter of heredity, massive ancient DNA study shows.” National Geographic wrote here, and CNN here.

Vikings Not All Scandinavian – Or Blonde

Say what??? That’s not at all what we thought we knew. That’s the great thing about science – we’re always learning something new.

442 Viking skeletons from outside Scandinavia were sequenced by Eske Willerslev’s lab, producing whole genome sequences for both men and women from sites in Scotland, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, the Baltic, Iceland, Greenland and elsewhere in continental Europe. They were then compared to known Viking samples from Scandinavia.

Not the grave where the sample was taken, but a Viking cemetery from Denmark.

One Viking boat burial in an Estonian Viking cemetery shows that 4 Viking brothers died and were buried together, ostensibly perishing in the same battle, on the same day. Based on their DNA, the brothers probably came from Sweden.

Vikings raiding parties from Scandinavia originated in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. At least some Viking raiders seem to be closely related to each other, and females in Iceland appear to be from the British Isles, suggesting that they may have “become” Vikings – although we don’t really understand the social and community structure.

Genes found in Vikings were contributed from across Europe, including southern Europe, and as afar away as Asia. Due to mixing resulting from the Viking raids beginning at Lindisfarne in 793 , the UK population today carries as much as 6% Viking DNA. Surprisingly, Swedes had only 10%.

Some Viking burials in both Orkney and Norway were actually genetically Pictish men. Converts, perhaps? One of these burials may actually be the earliest Pict skeleton sequenced to date.

Y DNA

Of the 442 skeletons, about 300 were male. The whole genome sequence includes the Y chromosome along with mitochondrial DNA, although it requires special processing to separate it usefully.

Goran Runfeldt, a member of the Million Mito team and head of research at FamilyTreeDNA began downloading DNA sequences immediately, and Michael Sager began analyzing Y DNA, hoping to add or split Y DNA tree branches.

Given the recent split of haplogroup P and A00, these ancient samples hold HUGE promise.

Michael and Goran have agreed to share their work as they process these samples – providing a rare glimpse real-time into the lab.

You and the Tree

Everyone is so excited about this paper, and I want you to be able to see if your Y or mitochondrial DNA, or that of your relatives matches the DNA haplogroups in the paper.

The paper itself uses the older letter=number designations for Y DNA haplogroup, so FamilyTreeDNA is rerunning, aligning and certifying the actual SNPs. The column FTDNA Haplogroup reflects the SNP Y haplogroup name.

Note that new Y DNA branches appear on the tree the day AFTER the change is made, and right now, changes resulting from this paper are being made hourly. I will update the haplogroup information daily as more becomes available. Pay particular attention to the locations that show where the graves were found along with the FamilyTreeDNA notes.

Goran has also included the mtDNA haplogroup as identified in the paper. Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups have not been recalculated, but you just might see them in the Million Mito Project😊

Here’s what you’ll need to do:

  • Go to your Y or mitochondrial DNA results and find your haplogroup.

  • Do a browser search on this article to see if your haplogroup is shown. On a PC, that’s CTRL+F to show the “find” box. If your haplogroup isn’t showing, you could be downstream of the Viking haplogroup, so you’ll need to use the Y DNA Block Tree (for Big Y testers) or public haplotree, here.
  • If you’ve taken the Big Y test, click on the Block Tree on your results page and then look across the top of your results page to see if the haplogroup in question is “upstream” or a parent of your haplogroup.

click to enlarge

If you don’t see it, keep scanning to the left until you see the last SNP.

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  • If the haplogroup you are seeking is NOT shown in your direct upstream branches, you can type the name of the haplogroup into the search box. For example, I’ve typed I-BY3428. You can also simply click on the FTDNA name haplogroup link in the table, below, considerately provided by Goran.

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I don’t see the intersecting SNP yet, between the tester and the ancient sample, so if I click on I-Y2592, I can view the rest of the upstream branches of haplogroup I.

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By looking at the Y DNA SNPs of the tester, and the Y DNA SNPs of the ancient sample, I can see that the intersecting SNP is DF29, roughly 52 SNP generations in the past. Rule of thumb is that SNP generations are 80-100 years each.

How About You – Are You Related to a Viking?

Below, you’ll find the information from Y DNA results in the paper, reprocessed and analyzed, with FamilyTreeDNA verified SNP names, along with the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup of each Viking male.

Are you related, and if so, how closely?

I was surprised to find a sister-branch to my own mitochondrial J1c2f. J1c2 and several subclades or branches were found in Viking burials.

I need to check all of my ancestral lines, both male and female. There’s history waiting to be revealed. What have you discovered?

Ancient Viking Sample Information

Please note that this information will be updated on business days until all samples have been processed and placed on the Y DNA tree – so this will be a “live” copy of the most current phylogenetic information.

Link to the locations to see the locations of the excavation sites, and the haplogroups for the tree locations. Michael Sager is making comments as he reviews each sample.

Enjoy!

Sample: VK14 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-12
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-BY3428
mtDNA: J1c1a

Sample: VK16 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-2
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 11-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-M253
mtDNA: X2b4

Sample: VK17 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-17
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: T-Y138678
FTDNA Comment: Shares 5 SNPs with a man from Chechen Republic, forming a new branch down of T-Y22559 (T-Y138678)
mtDNA: U5a2a1b

Sample: VK18 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-3
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-YP1370
mtDNA: H1b1

Sample: VK20 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-1
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 11th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Y22478
FTDNA Comment: Splits the I-Z24071 branch, positive only for Y22478. New path = I-Y22486>I-Y22478>I-Z24071
mtDNA: H6c

Sample: VK22 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-13
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-A8462
mtDNA: T2b

Sample: VK23 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-9
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-M253
mtDNA: U4a1a

Sample: VK24 / Faroe_AS34/Panum
Location: Hvalba, Faroes
Age: Viking 11th century
Y-DNA: R-FGC12948
mtDNA: J1b1a1a

Sample: VK25 / Faroe_1
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-FT381000
FTDNA Comment: Splits the R-BY11762 branch, positive for 5 variants ancestral for ~14, new path = R-A8041>R-BY11764>BY11762
mtDNA: H3a1a

Sample: VK27 / Faroe_10
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-L513
mtDNA: U5a1g1

Sample: VK29 / Sweden_Skara 17
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-S7642
mtDNA: T2b3b

Sample: VK30 / Sweden_Skara 105
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S2857
mtDNA: U5b1c2b

Sample: VK31 / Sweden_Skara 194
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-L21
mtDNA: I4a

Sample: VK34 / Sweden_Skara 135
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY111759
mtDNA: HV-T16311C!

Sample: VK35 / Sweden_Skara 118
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS4179
mtDNA: T2f1a1

Sample: VK39 / Sweden_Skara 181
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: G-Z1817
mtDNA: T2b4b

Sample: VK40 / Sweden_Skara 106
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY166438
FTDNA Comment: Shares 10 SNPs with a man with unknown origins (American) downstream of R-BY1701. New branch R-BY166438
mtDNA: T1a1

Sample: VK42 / Sweden_Skara 62
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: J-FGC32685
mtDNA: T2b11

Sample: VK44 / Faroe_17
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S658
mtDNA: H3a1a

Sample: VK45 / Faroe_18
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS8277
mtDNA: H3a1

Sample: VK46 / Faroe_19
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY202785
FTDNA Comment: Forms a branch with VK245 down of R-BY202785 (Z287). New branch = R-FT383000
mtDNA: H5

Sample: VK48 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-212/65
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-FGC52679
mtDNA: H10e

Sample: VK50 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-53.64
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: I-Y22923
mtDNA: H1-T16189C!

Sample: VK51 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-88/64
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: N-L1026
mtDNA: U5b1e1

Sample: VK53 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-161/65
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: I-CTS10228
mtDNA: HV9b

Sample: VK57 / Gotland_Frojel-03601
Location: Frojel, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-L151
mtDNA: J1c6

Sample: VK60 / Gotland_Frojel-00702
Location: Frojel, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-YP1026
mtDNA: H13a1a1b

Sample: VK64 / Gotland_Frojel-03504
Location: Frojel, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-BY58559
mtDNA: I1a1

Sample: VK70 / Denmark_Tollemosegard-EW
Location: Tollemosegård, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Early Viking Late Germanic Iron Age/early Viking
Y-DNA: I-BY73576
mtDNA: H7d4

Sample: VK71 / Denmark_Tollemosegard-BU
Location: Tollemosegård, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Early Viking Late Germanic Iron Age/early Viking
Y-DNA: I-S22349
mtDNA: U5a1a

Sample: VK75 / Greenland late-0929
Location: V051, Western Settlement, Greenland
Age: Late Norse 1300 CE
Y-DNA: R-P310
mtDNA: H54

Sample: VK87 / Denmark_Hesselbjerg Grav 41b, sk PC
Location: Hesselbjerg, Jutland, Denmark
Age: Viking 850-900 CE
Y-DNA: R-Z198
mtDNA: K1c2

Sample: VK95 / Iceland_127
Location: Hofstadir, Iceland
Age: Viking 10-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S658
mtDNA: H6a1a3a

Sample: VK98 / Iceland_083
Location: Hofstadir, Iceland
Age: Viking 10-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-BY3433
FTDNA Comment: Splits I-BY3430. Derived for 1 ancestral for 6. New path = I-BY3433>I-BY3430
mtDNA: T2b3b

Sample: VK101 / Iceland_125
Location: Hofstadir, Iceland
Age: Viking 10-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY110718
mtDNA: U5b1g

Sample: VK102 / Iceland_128
Location: Hofstadir, Iceland
Age: Viking 10-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-Y96503
FTDNA Comment: Shares 3 SNPs with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch downstream of R-FGC23826. New branch = R-Y96503
mtDNA: J1c3f

Sample: VK110 / Iceland_115S
Location: Hofstadir, Iceland
Age: Viking 10-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC21682
mtDNA: H10-x

Sample: VK117 / Norway_Trondheim_SK328
Location: Trondheim, Nor_Mid, Norway
Age: Medieval 12-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S9257
mtDNA: H1a3a

Sample: VK123 / Iceland_X104
Location: Hofstadir, Iceland
Age: Viking 10-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-Y130994
FTDNA Comment: Shares 17 SNPs with a man from the UAE. Creates a new branch downstream of R2-V1180. New branch = R-Y130994
mtDNA: J1c9

Sample: VK127 / Iceland_HDR08
Location: Hringsdalur, Iceland
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-BY92608
mtDNA: H3g1b

Sample: VK129 / Iceland_ING08
Location: Ingiridarstadir, Iceland
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-BY154143
FTDNA Comment: Shares 3 SNPs with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch downstream of R1a-YP275. New branch = R-BY154143
mtDNA: U5b1b1a

Sample: VK133 / Denmark_Galgedil KO
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 8-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-Z8
mtDNA: K1a4a1a3

Sample: VK134 / Denmark_Galgedil ALZ
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY97519
mtDNA: H1cg

Sample: VK138 / Denmark_Galgedil AQQ
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S1491
mtDNA: T2b5

Sample: VK139 / Denmark_Galgedil ANG
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY32008
mtDNA: J1c3k

Sample: VK140 / Denmark_Galgedil PT
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: G-M201
mtDNA: H27f

Sample: VK143 / UK_Oxford_#7
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-Y13833
FTDNA Comment: Splits R-Y13816. Derived for 6 ancestral for 3. New path = R-Y13816>R-Y13833
mtDNA: U5b1b1-T16192C!

Sample: VK144 / UK_Oxford_#8
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-Y2592
mtDNA: V1a1

Sample: VK145 / UK_Oxford_#9
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-YP1708
mtDNA: H17

Sample: VK146 / UK_Oxford_#10
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-M6155
mtDNA: J1c3e1

Sample: VK147 / UK_Oxford_#11
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-Y75899
mtDNA: T1a1q

Sample: VK148 / UK_Oxford_#12
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-M253
mtDNA: H6a1a

Sample: VK149 / UK_Oxford_#13
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-M253
mtDNA: H1a1

Sample: VK150 / UK_Oxford_#14
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-FT4725
mtDNA: H1-C16239T

Sample: VK151 / UK_Oxford_#15
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-S19291
mtDNA: T2b4-T152C!

Sample: VK153 / Poland_Bodzia B1
Location: Bodzia, Poland
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-M198
mtDNA: H1c3

Sample: VK156 / Poland_Bodzia B4
Location: Bodzia, Poland
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-Y9081
mtDNA: J1c2c2a

Sample: VK157 / Poland_Bodzia B5
Location: Bodzia, Poland
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-S2077
mtDNA: H1c

Sample: VK159 / Russia_Pskov_7283-20
Location: Pskov, Russia
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-A7982
mtDNA: U2e2a1d

Sample: VK160 / Russia_Kurevanikka_7283-3
Location: Kurevanikha, Russia
Age: Viking 10-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-YP1137
mtDNA: C4a1a-T195C!

Sample: VK163 / UK_Oxford_#1
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-M253
mtDNA: U2e2a1a1

Sample: VK165 / UK_Oxford_#3
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-S18218
mtDNA: U4b1b1

Sample: VK166 / UK_Oxford_#4
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-BY67003
FTDNA Comment: Splits R-BY45170 (DF27). Derived for 2, ancestral for 7. New path = R-BY67003>R-BY45170
mtDNA: H3ag

Sample: VK167 / UK_Oxford_#5
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-BY34674
mtDNA: H4a1a4b

Sample: VK168 / UK_Oxford_#6
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-Z18
mtDNA: H4a1a4b

Sample: VK170 / Isle-of-Man_Balladoole
Location: Balladoole, IsleOfMan
Age: Viking 9-10th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S3201
mtDNA: HV9b

Sample: VK172 / UK_Oxford_#16
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-FT7019
mtDNA: I1a1e

Sample: VK173 / UK_Oxford_#17
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-FT13004
FTDNA Comment: Splits I2-FT12648, derived for 5, ancestral for 7. New path FT13004>FT12648
mtDNA: U5a1b-T16362C

Sample: VK174 / UK_Oxford_#18
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-FGC17429
mtDNA: H1-C16239T

Sample: VK175 / UK_Oxford_#19
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-Y47841
FTDNA Comment: Shares 6 SNPs with man from Sweden down of R-BY38950 (R-Y47841)
mtDNA: H1a1

Sample: VK176 / UK_Oxford_#20
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: I-FT3562
mtDNA: H10

Sample: VK177 / UK_Oxford_#21
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-FT31867
FTDNA Comment: Shares 3 SNPs with a man from Greece. Forms a new branch downstream of R-BY220332 (U152). New branch = R-FT31867
mtDNA: H82

Sample: VK178 / UK_Oxford_#22
Location: St_John’s_College_Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
Age: Viking 880-1000 CE
Y-DNA: R-BY176639
FTDNA Comment: Links up with PGA3 (Personal Genome Project Austria) and FTDNA customer from Denmark. PGA and FTDNA customer formed a branch earlier this week, VK178 will join them at R-BY176639 (Under L48)
mtDNA: K2a5

Sample: VK179 / Greenland F2
Location: Ø029a, Eastern Settlement, Greenland
Age: Early Norse 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-F3312
mtDNA: K1a3a

Sample: VK183 / Greenland F6
Location: Ø029a, Eastern Settlement, Greenland
Age: Early Norse 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-F3312
mtDNA: T2b21

Sample: VK184 / Greenland F7
Location: Ø029a, Eastern Settlement, Greenland
Age: Early Norse 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-YP4342
mtDNA: H4a1a4b

Sample: VK186 / Greenland KNK-[6]
Location: Ø64, Eastern Settlement, Greenland
Age: Early Norse 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y79817
FTDNA Comment: Shares 3 SNPs with a man from Norway downstream of I-Y24625. New branch = I-Y79817
mtDNA: H1ao

Sample: VK190 / Greenland late-0996
Location: Ø149, Eastern Settlement, Greenland
Age: Late Norse 1360 CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC15543
FTDNA Comment: Splits I-FGC15561. Derived 11 ancestral for 6. New path = I-FGC15543>I-FGC15561
mtDNA: K1a-T195C!

Sample: VK201 / Orkney_Buckquoy, sk M12
Location: Buckquoy_Birsay, Orkney, Scotland, UK
Age: Viking 5-6th century CE
Y-DNA: I-B293
mtDNA: H3k1a

Sample: VK202 / Orkney_Buckquoy, sk 7B
Location: Buckquoy_Birsay, Orkney, Scotland, UK
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-A151
mtDNA: H1ai1

Sample: VK203 / Orkney_BY78, Ar. 1, sk 3
Location: Brough_Road_Birsay, Orkney, Scotland, UK
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-BY10450
FTDNA Comment: FT83323-
mtDNA: H4a1a1a1a1

Sample: VK204 / Orkney_Newark for Brothwell
Location: Newark_Deerness, Orkney, Scotland, UK
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-BY115469
mtDNA: H1m

Sample: VK205 / Orkney_Newark 68/12
Location: Newark_Deerness, Orkney, Scotland, UK
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-YP4345
mtDNA: H3

Sample: VK210 / Poland_Kraków-Zakrzówek gr. 24
Location: Kraków, Poland
Age: Medieval 11-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Z16971
mtDNA: H5e1a1

Sample: VK211 / Poland_Cedynia gr. 435
Location: Cedynia, Poland
Age: Medieval 11-13 centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-M269
mtDNA: W6

Sample: VK212 / Poland_Cedynia gr. 558
Location: Cedynia, Poland
Age: Viking 11-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS11962
mtDNA: H1-T152C!

Sample: VK215 / Denmark_Gerdrup-B; sk 1
Location: Gerdrup, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Viking 9th century CE
Y-DNA: R-M269
mtDNA: J1c2k

Sample: VK217 / Sweden_Ljungbacka
Location: Ljungbacka, Malmo, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-L151
mtDNA: J1b1b1

Sample: VK218 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-4
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY2848
mtDNA: H5

Sample: VK219 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-10
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y22024
mtDNA: T2b6a

Sample: VK220 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-11
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-FT253975
FTDNA Comment: CTS2208+, BY47171-, CTS7676-, Y20288-, BY69785-, FT253975+
mtDNA: J2b1a

Sample: VK221 / Russia_Ladoga_5757-14
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 9-10th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y5473
mtDNA: K1d

Sample: VK223 / Russia_Gnezdovo 75-140
Location: Gnezdovo, Russia
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-BY67763
mtDNA: H13a1a1c

Sample: VK224 / Russia_Gnezdovo 78-249
Location: Gnezdovo, Russia
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: N-CTS2929
mtDNA: H7a1

Sample: VK225 / Iceland_A108
Location: Hofstadir, Iceland
Age: Viking 10-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY92608
mtDNA: H3v-T16093C

Sample: VK232 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-240.65
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-Y16505
FTDNA Comment: Speculative placement – U106+, but U106 (C>T) in ancient samples can be misleading. LAV010, NA34, I7779, ble007, R55 and EDM124 are all non-R ancient samples that are U106+. More conservative placement is at R-P310
mtDNA: N1a1a1

Sample: VK234 / Faroe_2
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-FT381000
FTDNA Comment: Same split as VK25. They share one marker FT381000 (26352237 T>G)
mtDNA: H3a1a

Sample: VK237 / Faroe_15
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S6355
mtDNA: J2a2c

Sample: VK238 / Faroe_4
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-YP396
mtDNA: H3a1a

Sample: VK239 / Faroe_5
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-M269
mtDNA: H5

Sample: VK242 / Faroe_3
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S764
mtDNA: H3a1a

Sample: VK244 / Faroe_12
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS4179
mtDNA: H2a2a2

Sample: VK245 / Faroe_16
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY202785
FTDNA Comment: Forms a branch with VK46 down of R-BY202785 (Z287). New branch = R-FT383000
mtDNA: H3a1

Sample: VK248 / Faroe_22
Location: Church2, Faroes
Age: Early modern 16-17th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-M253
mtDNA: H49a

Sample: VK251 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-30.64
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-M459
mtDNA: U5b1e1

Sample: VK256 / UK_Dorset-3722
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-YP5718
mtDNA: H1c7

Sample: VK257 / UK_Dorset-3723
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y19934
mtDNA: H5a1c1a

Sample: VK258 / UK_Dorset-3733
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-YP1395
FTDNA Comment: Shares 5 SNPs with a man from Norway. Forms a new branch down of R-YP1395. New branch = R-PH420
mtDNA: K1a4a1

Sample: VK259 / UK_Dorset-3734
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-FT20255
FTDNA Comment: Both VK449 and VK259 share 3 SNPs with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch down of R-FT20255 (Z18). New branch = R-FT22694
mtDNA: I2

Sample: VK260 / UK_Dorset-3735
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: Q-BY77336
mtDNA: H1e1a

Sample: VK261 / UK_Dorset-3736
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY64643
mtDNA: H52

Sample: VK262 / UK_Dorset-3739
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-FT347811
FTDNA Comment: Shares 2 SNPs with an American of unknown origins. Forms a new branch down of Y6908 (Z140). At the same time a new branch was discovered that groups this new Ancient/American branch with the established I-FT274828 branch. New ancient path = I-Y6908>I-FT273257>I-FT347811
mtDNA: J1c4

Sample: VK263 / UK_Dorset-3742
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-Z16372
mtDNA: K1a4d

Sample: VK264 / UK_Dorset-3744
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY30937
mtDNA: N1a1a1a2

Sample: VK267 / Sweden_Karda 21
Location: Karda, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-L23
mtDNA: T2b4b

Sample: VK268 / Sweden_Karda 22
Location: Karda, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-M269
mtDNA: K1c1

Sample: VK269 / Sweden_Karda 24
Location: Karda, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-M269
mtDNA: H1e1a

Sample: VK273 / Russia_Gnezdovo 77-255
Location: Gnezdovo, Russia
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY61747
mtDNA: U5a2a1b1

Sample: VK274 / Denmark_Kaargarden 391
Location: Kaagården, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-PH3519
mtDNA: T2b-T152C!

Sample: VK275 / Denmark_Kaargarden 217
Location: Kaagården, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: I-BY74743
mtDNA: H

Sample: VK279 / Denmark_Galgedil AXE
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Y10639
mtDNA: I4a

Sample: VK280 / Denmark_Galgedil UO
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y3713
mtDNA: H11a

Sample: VK281 / Denmark_Barse Grav A
Location: Bårse, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC22153
FTDNA Comment: Splits I-Y5612 (P109). Derived for 8, ancestral for 2. New path = I-Y5612>I-Y5619
mtDNA: T2

Sample: VK282 / Denmark_Stengade I, LMR c195
Location: Stengade_I, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS1211
mtDNA: H4a1a4b

Sample: VK286 / Denmark_Bogovej Grav BJ
Location: Bogøvej, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-S10708
mtDNA: J1c-C16261T

Sample: VK287 / Denmark_Kaargarden Grav BS
Location: Kaagården, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-S22676
mtDNA: T2b

Sample: VK289 / Denmark_Bodkergarden Grav H, sk 1
Location: Bødkergarden, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 9th century CE
Y-DNA: R-U106
mtDNA: J2b1a

Sample: VK290 / Denmark_Kumle Hoje Grav O
Location: Kumle_høje, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-FT264183
FTDNA Comment: Shares at least 4 SNPs with a man from Sweden, forming a new branch downstream R-FT263905 (U106). New branch = R-FT264183. HG02545 remains at R-FT263905
mtDNA: I1a1

Sample: VK291 / Denmark_Bodkergarden Grav D, sk 1
Location: Bødkergarden, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 9th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Y20861
mtDNA: U5a1a2b

Sample: VK292 / Denmark_Bogovej Grav A.D.
Location: Bogøvej, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-M417
mtDNA: J1c2c1

Sample: VK295 / Denmark_Hessum sk 1
Location: Hessum, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y4738
mtDNA: T1a1

Sample: VK296 / Denmark_Hundstrup Mose sk 1
Location: Hundstrup_Mose, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Early Viking 660-780 CE
Y-DNA: I-S7660
mtDNA: HV6

Sample: VK297 / Denmark_Hundstrup Mose sk 2
Location: Hundstrup_Mose, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Early Viking 670-830 CE
Y-DNA: I-Y4051
mtDNA: J1c2h

Sample: VK301 / Denmark_Ladby Grav 4
Location: Ladby, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 640-890 CE
Y-DNA: I-FT105192
mtDNA: R0a2b

Sample: VK306 / Sweden_Skara 33
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-FT115400
FTDNA Comment: Shares 3 mutations with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch down of I-S19291. New branch = I-FT115400. VK151 has no coverage for 2 of these mutations
mtDNA: H15a1

Sample: VK308 / Sweden_Skara 101
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY33037
mtDNA: H1c

Sample: VK309 / Sweden_Skara 53
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-YP6189
mtDNA: K1b1c

Sample: VK313 / Denmark_Rantzausminde Grav 2
Location: Rantzausminde, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 850-900 CE
Y-DNA: R-JFS0009
mtDNA: H1b

Sample: VK315 / Denmark_Bakkendrup Grav 16
Location: Bakkendrup, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Viking 850-900 CE
Y-DNA: I-Y98280
FTDNA Comment: Shares 1 SNP with a man from the Netherlands. Forms a new branch downstream of I-Y37415 (P109). New branch = I-Y98280
mtDNA: T1a1b

Sample: VK316 / Denmark_Hessum sk II
Location: Hessum, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y130659
FTDNA Comment: Splits I-Y130594 (Z59). Derived for 1 ancestral for 6. New path = I-Y130659>I-Y130594>I-Y130747. Ancient sample STR_486 also belongs in this group, at I-Y130747
mtDNA: K1a4

Sample: VK317 / Denmark_Kaargarden Grav BF99
Location: Kaagården, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: J-BY62479
FTDNA Comment: Splits J2-BY62479 (M67). Derived for 9, ancestral for 3. New path = J-BY62479>J-BY72550
mtDNA: H2a2a1

Sample: VK320 / Denmark_Bogovej Grav S
Location: Bogøvej, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Y103013
FTDNA Comment: Shares 3 SNPs with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch down of I-FT3562 (P109). New branch = I-Y103013
mtDNA: U5a1a1

Sample: VK323 / Denmark_Ribe 2
Location: Ribe, Jutland, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S10185
mtDNA: K2a6

Sample: VK324 / Denmark_Ribe 3
Location: Ribe, Jutland, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY16590
FTDNA Comment: Splits R-BY16590 (L47). Derived for 7, ancestral for 3. New path = R-S9742>R-BY16950
mtDNA: N1a1a1a2

Sample: VK326 / Denmark_Ribe 5
Location: Ribe, Jutland, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-Y52895
mtDNA: U5b1-T16189C!-T16192C!

Sample: VK327 / Denmark_Ribe 6
Location: Ribe, Jutland, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-BY463
mtDNA: H6a1a5

Sample: VK329 / Denmark_Ribe 8
Location: Ribe, Jutland, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S18894
mtDNA: H3-T152C!

Sample: VK332 / Oland_1088
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 858 ±68 CE
Y-DNA: I-S8522
FTDNA Comment: Possibly falls beneath I-BY195155. Shares one C>T mutation with a BY195155* sample
mtDNA: T2b24

Sample: VK333 / Oland_1028
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 885 ± 69 CE
Y-DNA: R-Z29034
mtDNA: H2a2a1

Sample: VK335 / Oland_1068
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY39347
FTDNA Comment: Shares 8 SNPs with a man from France. Forms a new branch down of R-BY39347 (U152). New branch = R-FT304388
mtDNA: K1b2a3

Sample: VK336 / Oland_1075
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 853 ± 67 CE
Y-DNA: R-BY106906
mtDNA: K2a3a

Sample: VK337 / Oland_1064
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 858 ± 68 CE
Y-DNA: I-BY31739
FTDNA Comment: Possible Z140
mtDNA: U5a1b3a

Sample: VK338 / Denmark_Bogovej Grav BV
Location: Bogøvej, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-A6707
mtDNA: W3a1

Sample: VK342 / Oland_1016
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-BY78615
FTDNA Comment: Shares 2 SNPs with a man from Finland. Forms a new branch down of I2-Y23710 (L801). New branch = I-BY78615
mtDNA: H2a1

Sample: VK343 / Oland_1021
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y7232
mtDNA: H3h

Sample: VK344 / Oland_1030
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY32357
mtDNA: J1c2t

Sample: VK345 / Oland_1045
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-FT148754
FTDNA Comment: Splits R-FT148754 (DF63). Derived for 8, ancestral for 6. New path = R-FT148796>R-FT148754
mtDNA: H4a1

Sample: VK346 / Oland_1057
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: J-Z8424
mtDNA: H2a2b

Sample: VK348 / Oland_1067
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Z171
mtDNA: T2b28

Sample: VK349 / Oland_1073
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 829 ± 57 CE
Y-DNA: R-BY166065
FTDNA Comment: Shares 2 SNPs with a man from England. Forms a branch down of R-BY166065 (L1066). New branch = R-BY167052
mtDNA: H1e2a

Sample: VK352 / Oland_1012
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC35755
FTDNA Comment: Possibly forms a branch down of I-Y15295. 2 possible G>A mutations with a I-Y15295* sample
mtDNA: H64

Sample: VK354 / Oland_1026
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 986 ± 38 CE
Y-DNA: R-S6752
mtDNA: H2a1

Sample: VK355 / Oland_1046
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 847 ± 65 CE
Y-DNA: L-L595
FTDNA Comment: Joins 2 other ancients on this rare branch. ASH087 and I2923
mtDNA: U5b1b1a

Sample: VK357 / Oland_1097
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 1053 ± 60 CE
Y-DNA: I-FT49567
FTDNA Comment: Shares 4 SNPs with a man from England. Forms a new branch down of I-A5952 (Z140). New branch = I-FT49567
mtDNA: J2b1a

Sample: VK362 / Denmark_Bogovej LMR 12077
Location: Bogøvej, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: E-CTS5856
FTDNA Comment: Possibly E-Z16663
mtDNA: V7b

Sample: VK363 / Denmark_Bogovej BT
Location: Bogøvej, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: I-BY198083
FTDNA Comment: Shares 2 SNPs with a man from Switzerland. Forms a new branch down of I-A1472 (Z140). New branch = I-BY198083
mtDNA: U4b1a1a1

Sample: VK365 / Denmark_Bogovej BS
Location: Bogøvej, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-BY34800
mtDNA: U8a2

Sample: VK367 / Denmark_Bogovej D
Location: Bogøvej, Langeland, Denmark
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: I-BY67827
FTDNA Comment: VK506 and VK367 split the I-BY67827 branch. Derived for 2 SNPs total. They also share one unique marker (26514336 G>C). New branches = I-Y16449>I-BY72774>I-FT382000
mtDNA: J1b1a1

Sample: VK369 / Denmark_Bakkendrup losfund-2, conc.1
Location: Bakkendrup, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Viking 850-900 CE
Y-DNA: R-FGC7556
FTDNA Comment: Shares 13 SNPs with an American. Forms a new branch down of R-FGC7556 (DF99). New branch = R-FT108043
mtDNA: H1a

Sample: VK373 / Denmark_Galgedil BER
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-L20
mtDNA: J2b1a

Sample: VK379 / Oland_1077
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Early Viking 700 CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC22048
mtDNA: U3b1b

Sample: VK380 / Oland_1078
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y22923
mtDNA: H27

Sample: VK382 / Oland_1132
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Early Viking 700 CE
Y-DNA: I-L813
mtDNA: H3g1

Sample: VK384 / Denmark_Hesselbjerg Grav 14, sk EU
Location: Hesselbjerg, Jutland, Denmark
Age: Viking 850-900 CE
Y-DNA: R-FGC10249
mtDNA: H3g1

Sample: VK386 / Norway_Oppland 5305
Location: Oppland, Nor_South, Norway
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S695
mtDNA: J1b1a1

Sample: VK388 / Norway_Nordland 253
Location: Nordland, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Viking 8-16th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y22507
FTDNA Comment: Splits I-Y22507. Derived for 1 ancestral for 5. New path = I-Y22504>I-Y22507
mtDNA: J1c5

Sample: VK389 / Norway_Telemark 3697
Location: Telemark, Nor_South, Norway
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-Z27210
FTDNA Comment: Splits R-Z27210 (U106). Derived for 1 ancestral for 2. New path = R-Y32857>R-Z27210
mtDNA: T2b

Sample: VK390 / Norway_Telemark 1648-A
Location: Telemark, Nor_South, Norway
Age: Iron Age 5-6th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-FT7019
mtDNA: K2a3

Sample: VK394 / Norway_Hedmark 4460
Location: Hedmark, Nor_South, Norway
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-YP5161
FTDNA Comment: Shares 1 SNP with a man from Denmark. Forms a new branch down of R-YP5161 (L448). New branch = R-BY186623
mtDNA: H13a1a1a

Sample: VK395 / Sweden_Skara 275
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: N-BY21973
mtDNA: X2c1

Sample: VK396 / Sweden_Skara 166
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY18970
FTDNA Comment: Splits R-BY18970 (DF98). Derived for 2, ancestral for 4 (BY18964+?). New path = R-BY18973>R-BY18970
mtDNA: J1c2t

Sample: VK397 / Sweden_Skara 237
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S7759
mtDNA: J1b1a1

Sample: VK398 / Sweden_Skara 231
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: T-BY215080
mtDNA: H1b1-T16362C

Sample: VK399 / Sweden_Skara 276
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: N-FGC14542
mtDNA: H4a1a1a

Sample: VK400 / Sweden_Skara 236
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC21682
mtDNA: H1-C16239T

Sample: VK401 / Sweden_Skara 229
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-YP5155
FTDNA Comment: Splits R-YP5155. Derived for 4, ancestral for 1. New path = R-YP5155>R-Y29963
mtDNA: H2a2b

Sample: VK403 / Sweden_Skara 217
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY3222
mtDNA: K1a4a1a2b

Sample: VK404 / Sweden_Skara 277
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-BY55382
FTDNA Comment: Shares 3 SNPs with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch down of I-BY55382 (L22). New branch = I-BY108664
mtDNA: U4a2

Sample: VK405 / Sweden_Skara 83
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-L21
mtDNA: K1a10

Sample: VK406 / Sweden_Skara 203
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: N-Y7795
FTDNA Comment: Shares 2 SNPs with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch down of N-Y7795. New branch = N-FT381631
mtDNA: K1a4a1

Sample: VK407 / Sweden_Skara 274
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y18232
mtDNA: H1c21

Sample: VK408 / Russia_Ladoga_5757-18
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS11962
mtDNA: H74

Sample: VK409 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-14
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-DF29
mtDNA: H3h

Sample: VK410 / Russia_Ladoga_5680-15
Location: Ladoga, Russia
Age: Viking 11-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-M253
mtDNA: X2b-T226C

Sample: VK411 / Denmark_Galgedil TT
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-M269
mtDNA: H1a1

Sample: VK414 / Norway_Oppland 1517
Location: Oppland, Nor_South, Norway
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-PH12
FTDNA Comment: Splits R1a-PH12. Derived for 2, ancestral for 1. New path R-Y66214>R-PH12
mtDNA: H6a1a

Sample: VK418 / Norway_Nordland 1502
Location: Nordland, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Iron Age 4th century CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS5533
mtDNA: J1c2c1

Sample: VK419 / Norway_Nordland 1522
Location: Nordland, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Viking 6-10th centuries CE
Y-DNA: N-S9378
FTDNA Comment: Shares 2 SNPs with a man from France. Forms a new branch down of N-S9378 (L550). New branch = N-BY160234
mtDNA: U5b1b1g1

Sample: VK420 / Norway_Hedmark 2813
Location: Hedmark, Nor_South, Norway
Age: Viking 8-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC15560
FTDNA Comment: Shares 8 SNPs with an American man. Forms a new branch down of I-BY158446. New branch = I-FT118954
mtDNA: I4a

Sample: VK421 / Norway_Oppland 3777
Location: Oppland, Nor_South, Norway
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-M198
mtDNA: U5b2c2b

Sample: VK422 / Norway_Hedmark 4304
Location: Hedmark, Nor_South, Norway
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-YP390
mtDNA: J1b1a1a

Sample: VK424 / Sweden_Skara 273
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-M269
mtDNA: K2b1a1

Sample: VK425 / Sweden_Skara 44
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-Z331
mtDNA: U3a1

Sample: VK426 / Sweden_Skara 216
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-M269
mtDNA: U6a1a1

Sample: VK427 / Sweden_Skara 209
Location: Varnhem, Skara, Sweden
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Y5362
mtDNA: K1a4

Sample: VK430 / Gotland_Frojel-00502
Location: Frojel, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: N-S18447
mtDNA: T1a1b

Sample: VK431 / Gotland_Frojel-00487A
Location: Frojel, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-P312
mtDNA: H2a1

Sample: VK438 / Gotland_Frojel-04498
Location: Frojel, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS11962
mtDNA: H1

Sample: VK443 / Oland_1101
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-A20404
mtDNA: U5b2b5

Sample: VK444 / Oland_1059
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 847 ± 65 CE
Y-DNA: R-PH1477
mtDNA: K1a

Sample: VK445 / Denmark_Gl Lejre-A1896
Location: Gl._Lejre, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-Z2040
mtDNA: U3b

Sample: VK446 / Denmark_Galgedil LS
Location: Galgedil, Funen, Denmark
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-BY19383
FTDNA Comment: Shares 1 SNP with a man from England. Forms a new branch down of I-BY19383 (Z2041). New branch = I-BY94803
mtDNA: U5a1a1-T16362C

Sample: VK449 / UK_Dorset-3746
Location: Ridgeway_Hill_Mass_Grave_Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-FT20255
FTDNA Comment: Both VK449 and VK259 share 3 SNPs with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch down of R-FT20255 (Z18). New branch = R-FT22694
mtDNA: H6a2a

Sample: VK452 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-111
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS11962
mtDNA: T2b

Sample: VK453 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-134
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-YP256
mtDNA: H8c

Sample: VK461 / Gotland_Frojel-025A89
Location: Frojel, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: N-Y5005
FTDNA Comment: Possibly down of Y15161. Shares 2 C>T mutations with a Y15161* kit
mtDNA: H7b

Sample: VK463 / Gotland_Frojel-019A89
Location: Frojel, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-Y13467
mtDNA: H1b5

Sample: VK466 / Russia_Gnezdovo 77-222
Location: Gnezdovo, Russia
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-PF6162
mtDNA: H6a1a4

Sample: VK468 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-235
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-BY125166
mtDNA: H1a1

Sample: VK469 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-260
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-FGC17230
mtDNA: H3ac

Sample: VK471 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-63
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-M417
mtDNA: H1m

Sample: VK473 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-126
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: I-S14887
mtDNA: N1a1a1a1

Sample: VK474 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-137
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: E-Y4971
FTDNA Comment: Possible E-Y4972 (Shares 1 G>A mutation with a E-Y4972* sample)
mtDNA: J1d

Sample: VK475 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-187
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: R-BY27605
mtDNA: H1a

Sample: VK479 / Gotland_Kopparsvik-272
Location: Kopparsvik, Gotland, Sweden
Age: Viking 900-1050 CE
Y-DNA: G-Y106451
mtDNA: H1a1

Sample: VK480 / Estonia_Salme_II-E
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: R-YP617
mtDNA: U4a2a1

Sample: VK481 / Estonia_Salme_II-F
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: N-FGC14542
FTDNA Comment: Shares 1 SNP with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch down of N-FGC14542. New branch = N–BY149019. VK399 possibly groups with these two as well
mtDNA: T2a1a

Sample: VK482 / Estonia_Salme_II-P
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-SK1234
mtDNA: H1a

Sample: VK483 / Estonia_Salme_II-V
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Y141089
FTDNA Comment: Said to be brother of VK497 at I-BY86407 which is compatible with this placement, although no further Y-SNP evidence exists due to low coverage
mtDNA: H16

Sample: VK484 / Estonia_Salme_II-Q
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: R-FT103482
FTDNA Comment: VK484 and VK486 both split R-FT103482 (Z283). Derived for 9 ancestral for 6. New path = R-FT104609>R-FT103482
mtDNA: H6a1a

Sample: VK485 / Estonia_Salme_II-O
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-BY266
FTDNA Comment: Said to be brother of VK497 at I-BY86407 which is compatible with this placement, although no further Y-SNP evidence exists due to low coverage
mtDNA: H16

Sample: VK486 / Estonia_Salme_II-G
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: R-FT103482
FTDNA Comment: VK484 and VK486 both split R-FT103482 (Z283). Derived for 9 ancestral for 6. New path = R-FT104609>R-FT103482
mtDNA: U4a2a

Sample: VK487 / Estonia_Salme_II-A
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: R-YP4932
FTDNA Comment: Joins ancient Estonian samples V9 and X14
mtDNA: H17a2

Sample: VK488 / Estonia_Salme_II-H
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-L813
mtDNA: H5c

Sample: VK489 / Estonia_Salme_II-Ä
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: N-Y21546
mtDNA: T2e1

Sample: VK490 / Estonia_Salme_II-N
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC8677
FTDNA Comment: Said to be brother of VK497 at I-BY86407 which is compatible with this placement, although no further Y-SNP evidence exists due to low coverage
mtDNA: H16

Sample: VK491 / Estonia_Salme_II-Õ
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Y141089
mtDNA: H6a1a

Sample: VK492 / Estonia_Salme_II-B
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Z73
mtDNA: H1b5

Sample: VK493 / Estonia_Salme_II-Š
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: R-S6353
FTDNA Comment: Shares 1 SNP with a man from Finland. Forms a new branch down of R-S6353. New branch = R-BY166432
mtDNA: H2a2a1

Sample: VK494 / Poland_Sandomierz 1/13
Location: Sandomierz, Poland
Age: Viking 10-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY25698
mtDNA: X2c2

Sample: VK495 / Estonia_Salme_II-C
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-BY98617
FTDNA Comment: Shares 1 SNP with a man from Romania. Forms a branch down of I-BY98617 (L22). New branch = I-FT373923
mtDNA: H1b

Sample: VK496 / Estonia_Salme_II-W
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-BY198216
mtDNA: H1a

Sample: VK497 / Estonia_Salme_II-Ö
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-BY86407
mtDNA: H16

Sample: VK498 / Estonia_Salme_II-Z
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: R-S6752
mtDNA: H1q

Sample: VK504 / Estonia_Salme_I-1
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: N-S23232
mtDNA: H28a

Sample: VK505 / Estonia_Salme_I-2
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: N-Y30126
mtDNA: J1b1a1b

Sample: VK506 / Estonia_Salme_I-3
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-BY67827
FTDNA Comment: VK506 and VK367 split the I-BY67827 branch. Derived for 2 SNPs total. They also share one unique marker (26514336 G>C). New branches = I-Y16449>I-BY72774>I-FT382000
mtDNA: J1c2

Sample: VK507 / Estonia_Salme_I-4
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-CTS8407
FTDNA Comment: Shares 1 SNP with a man from Denmark. Forms a branch down of I-CTS8407 (P109). New branch = I-BY56459
mtDNA: HV6

Sample: VK508 / Estonia_Salme_I-5
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: N-Y10933
mtDNA: J1c5

Sample: VK509 / Estonia_Salme_I-6
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Y36105
mtDNA: H1n-T146C!

Sample: VK510 / Estonia_Salme_I-7
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Y19932
FTDNA Comment: Shares 8 SNPs with a man from Russia. Creates a new branch down of I-Y19932 (L22). New branch = I-BY60851
mtDNA: H10e

Sample: VK511 / Estonia_Salme_II-X
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Y132154
mtDNA: T2a1a

Sample: VK512 / Estonia_Salme_II-Ü
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: N-Y21546
mtDNA: H2a2b1

Sample: VK513 / Greenland F8
Location: Ø029, East_Settlement, Greenland
Age: Early Norse 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-S2886
mtDNA: J1c1b

Sample: VK514 / Norway_Nordland 5195
Location: Nordland, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Viking 6-10th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-YP4963
mtDNA: K2b1a1

Sample: VK515 / Norway_Nordland 4512
Location: Nordland, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC8677
mtDNA: H52

Sample: VK516 / Norway_Sor-Trondelag 4481
Location: Sor-Trondelag, Nor_Mid, Norway
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS8746
mtDNA: H6a1a

Sample: VK517 / Sweden_Uppsala_UM36031_623b
Location: Skämsta, Uppsala, Sweden
Age: Viking 11th century
Y-DNA: I-BY78615
mtDNA: J1c3f

Sample: VK519 / Norway_Nordland 4691b
Location: Nordland, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Viking 6-10th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-M253
mtDNA: HV0a1

Sample: VK521 / Sol941 Grav900 Brondsager Torsiinre
Location: Brondsager_Torsiinre, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Iron Age 300 CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC43065
mtDNA: H16b

Sample: VK524 / Norway_Nordland 3708
Location: Nordland, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Viking 10th century CE
Y-DNA: I-M6155
mtDNA: HV0a1

Sample: VK528 / Norway_Troms 4049
Location: Troms, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Viking 8-9th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-BY135243
mtDNA: K1a4a1b

Sample: VK529 / Norway_Nordland 642
Location: Nordland, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Viking 8-9th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-BY106963
mtDNA: H7

Sample: VK531 / Norway_Troms 5001A
Location: Troms, Nor_North, Norway
Age: LNBA 2400 BC
Y-DNA: R-Y13202
mtDNA: U2e2a

Sample: VK532 / Kragehave Odetofter XL718
Location: Kragehave Odetofter, Sealand, Denmark
Age: Iron Age 100 CE
Y-DNA: I-S26361
FTDNA Comment: Shares 5 SNPs with a man from Sweden. Forms a new branch down of I-S26361 (Z2041). New branch = I-FT273387
mtDNA: U2e2a1a

Sample: VK533 / Oland 1076 28364 35
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Viking 9-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: N-BY21933
FTDNA Comment: Splits N-BY21933 (L550). Derived for 1 ancestral for 13. New path = N-BY29005>N-BY21933
mtDNA: H13a1a1e

Sample: VK534 / Italy_Foggia-869
Location: San_Lorenzo, Foggia, Italy
Age: Medieval 11-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-FGC71023
mtDNA: H1

Sample: VK535 / Italy_Foggia-891
Location: San_Lorenzo, Foggia, Italy
Age: Medieval 12-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-Z2109
mtDNA: T1a5

Sample: VK538 / Italy_Foggia-1249
Location: Cancarro, Foggia, Italy
Age: Medieval 11-13th centuries CE
Y-DNA: L-Z5931
mtDNA: H-C16291T

Sample: VK539 / Ukraine_Shestovitsa-8870-97
Location: Shestovitsa, Ukraine
Age: Viking 10-12th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-BY61100
FTDNA Comment: Splits I-BY61100 (Z2041). Derived for 5 ancestral for 3. New path I-BY65928>I-BY61100
mtDNA: V

Sample: VK541 / Ukraine_Lutsk
Location: Lutsk, Ukraine
Age: Medieval 13th century
Y-DNA: R-YP593
mtDNA: H7

Sample: VK542 / Ukraine_Chernigov
Location: Chernigov, Ukraine
Age: Viking 11th century
Y-DNA: I-S20602
mtDNA: H5a2a

Sample: VK543 / Ireland_EP55
Location: Eyrephort, Ireland
Age: Viking 9th century CE
Y-DNA: R-S2895
mtDNA: I2

Sample: VK545 / Ireland_SSG12
Location: Ship_Street_Great, Dublin, Ireland
Age: Viking 7-9th centuries CE
Y-DNA: R-DF105
mtDNA: H1bb

Sample: VK546 / Ireland_08E693
Location: Islandbridge, Dublin, Ireland
Age: Viking 9th century CE
Y-DNA: R-L448
mtDNA: HV6

Sample: VK547 / Norway_Nordland 4727
Location: Nordland, Nor_North, Norway
Age: Viking 8-11th centuries CE
Y-DNA: I-FT8660
FTDNA Comment: Splits I-FT8660 (L813) Derived for 3, ancestral for 3. New path = I-FT8660>I-FT8457
mtDNA: V

Sample: VK549 / Estonia_Salme_II-J
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-P109
mtDNA: T2b5a

Sample: VK550 / Estonia_Salme_II-D
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: N-Y4706
mtDNA: V

Sample: VK551 / Estonia_Salme_II-U
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: R-CTS4179
mtDNA: J2a1a1a2

Sample: VK552 / Estonia_Salme_II-K
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Z2900
mtDNA: H10e

Sample: VK553 / Estonia_Salme_II-M
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-FGC22026
FTDNA Comment: Splits I-FGC22026. Derived for 1, ancestral for 7. New path = I-FGC22035>I-FGC22026
mtDNA: K1c1h

Sample: VK554 / Estonia_Salme_II-L
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-M253
mtDNA: W6a

Sample: VK555 / Estonia_Salme_II-I
Location: Salme, Saaremaa, Estonia
Age: Early Viking 8th century CE
Y-DNA: I-Z73
mtDNA: U3b1b

Sample: VK579 / Oland 1099 1785/67 35
Location: Oland, Sweden
Age: Iron Age 200-400 CE
Y-DNA: N-L550
mtDNA: H1s

Sample: VK582 / SBM1028 ALKEN ENGE 2013, X2244
Location: Alken_Enge, Jutland, Denmark
Age: Iron Age 1st century CE
Y-DNA: I-L801
mtDNA: H6a1b3

Update History:

  • 9-17-2020 – updated 3 times, approximately one-third complete
  • 9-18-2020 – updated in afternoon with another 124 analyzed
  • 9-19-2020 – updated with 142 analyzed
  • 9-21-2020 – updates with 240 analyzed – only 60 to go!
  • 9-22-2020 – last update – A total of 285 entries analyzed and placed on the FTDNA tree where appropriate. 15 were too low quality or low coverage for a reliable haplogroup call, so they were excluded.

____________________________________________________________

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Connect With Your Inner Viking

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41

Let’s take a walking heritage tour of Oslo, Norway. We’ll see the city of Olso, the harbor and waterfront, excavated Viking ships, historic Norwegian villages, the Sami people and the Museum of Cultural History. Yes, Oslo has all that…and more.

But first, let’s talk about the Vikings, their history and why you might just care – as in personally.

The Vikings and You

Might you have a bit of Viking blood? If your ancestors came from, well, almost anyplace in coastal or riverine Europe, you might. The Vikings tended to follow the waterways, both sea and river.

Earth map by NASA; Data based on w:File:Viking Age.png (now: File:Vikingen tijd.png), which is in turn based on http://home.online.no/~anlun/tipi/vrout.jpg and other maps.

If your ancestors came from Scandinavia, Normandy, Ireland or England, you probably do have a Viking someplace in your past whether they show up in your DNA or not.

Max Naylor – Own work

However, you may find hints in your DNA.

I’m still complete fascinated by the fact that my mitochondrial DNA originated in Scandinavia even though my most distant known matrilineal ancestor is found in Germany. My Scandinavian matches are shown clustered below.

My mitochondrial match list at Family Tree DNA is full of surnames like Jonsdotter, Nilsdotter, Jansdotter, Larsdotter, Martensdotter, Persdotter, Olsdotter, Pedersdotter, Karldatter, Johnson, Palsdatter, Olausdotter and so forth. There’s no question about where this line originated. The only question is how, when and why Elizabeth Wenig’s matrilineal ancestors traveled to Germany where she was married to Hans Schlicht and gave birth to Elizabeth Schlicht in 1698. Elizabeth married in Wirbenz, Germany, far from Scandinavia.

That white pin shows where my most distant ancestor, Elizabeth Wenig lived. My best guess, and that’s what it is now, is that her arrival may have been connected with the Swedish involvement in the 30 Years War.

Regardless, Scandinavia is my mitochondrial heritage and I loved it in Oslo. I was quite surprised, because I never thought I’d fall in love with a “cold” country – but I did.

My paper trail genealogy suggests that I also descend from Rollo, the Viking warrior best known for having besieged Paris and ruled Normandy. Of course, given that Rollo was born about 860 and died about 930, there’s no genetic proof. It’s a fun story, but my own mitochondrial DNA holds proof of my Scandinavian heritage.

Is there a bit of Viking in you too? Join me in exploring the cultural heritage of Oslo and Norway. I’d love to share this beautiful city with you and your inner Viking. Come along!

Oslo

Welcome to Oslo, a beautiful city located on a fjord, full of history and Scandinavian charm. This was my first glimpse through the clouds. Even sleep deprivation of the red eye trip couldn’t mute my excitement.

One of the things I noticed is that dusk falls early, beginning about 2:30 in early November.

I didn’t realize until the second day that this really was dusk, not just a cloudy sky. The latitude is about the same as Anchorage, Alaska.

The Scandinavians have adapted art to dark.

This beautiful fountain in front of the University of Oslo along the main street, Karl Johann’s Gate, changes from pink to red to white to aqua to apple green to teal to magenta to red to dark purple to royal blue to kind of a frosty blue – and back again. This isn’t night, it’s late afternoon and the city center is full of people.

Bordering the public fountain area on one side we find the National Theater.

Ulven, which I think is a rock musical is playing, but we didn’t attend.

Standing between these stately columns of the Oslo University building, looking across the beautiful cobblestones, you see the National Theater. The fountain is between these two buildings, to the right slightly, just outside this photo.

I just love this design. Even art-inspired cobblestones.

We strolled through the Oslo University campus, enjoying every minute. Trash on the streets and ground is almost non-existent. The Natural History Museum is visible in the distance.

Statues grace the streets and parks. Some older and some contemporary.

Historic buildings are around every corner.

Experiences are made of people. Dr. Penny Walters (England), Martin McDowell (Northern Ireland) and me were the dynamic trio for two days, immersed in as much culture as we could cram in, including our own version of a haunted troll bridge.

This blue structure was designed to keep pedestrians safe in a construction area, but when you stepped on the end, something back in the middle, behind you, clunked disconcertingly. We joked and laughed, a bit uneasily perhaps, about having our own Norwegian troll, because it happened every single time😊

Trolls are part of the cultural heritage of Norway, a legend of Norse mythology.

Here’s the front of Oslo City Hall. The other side is the waterfront area.

This contemporary art is found along the waterfront with the masts of the tall ships showing at right, above the sign, in front of the Nobel Peace Center and Museum.

The entire waterfront area is cultural, with performers and ever-present activities.

I’m not exactly sure what this is, other than interesting. Coffee shops abound, and don’t bother asking for decaf, or Starbucks.

The waterfront is both lovely and historic.

The Nobel Peace Center and Museum faces the harbor.

The old fort still stands sentry in the distance above the harbor.

Viking Ship Museum

We caught tram number 30 on the waterfront and rode some distance to the Viking Ship Museum.

This incredible museum was literally built around and for salvaged Viking ships that had been pulled out of the sea and used for burials of high-status Vikings, probably chieftains or warriors, or perhaps individuals who were both.

In addition to the ships, this museum holds the remains of burial mounds, skeletons (I want their DNA), artifacts, a beautifully carved cart and more – much more.

This is the welcome that greets visitors. Utterly breathtaking.

I particularly love the shadows of the ships on the walls. Graceful elegance – perhaps this design needs to work itself into my future quilts.

These ships were incredibly crafted and are amazingly well preserved.

Is this the Viking version of a sea serpent? A creature from mythology? Dragon ships, called Drakkar from Norse mythology carried dragons and snakes on their prow. No actual dragon ship has ever been discovered, but these prow creatures might serve a similar function.

The grace and artistry on these longships is absolutely amazing. They were huge, more than 70 feet long and 16 feet wide.

When sailed, they could travel more than 11 MPH and they traversed the open sea – to Iceland, Greenland and eventually, as far as L’Anse aux Meadows in Canada, called Vinland.

These ships could also be rowed. Notice the oar holes on the sides and the brackets on the top of the sides to hold the oars.

The fact that these people were willing to sacrifice something so valuable and beautiful to become a virtual casket says something profound about the person being buried.

This museum was created to house these priceless relics. Each burial was accompanied by a burial hut, with a mound on top. The ship was buried first, followed by the hut on top with the mast sticking through. Then the entire ship and hut were covered with an earthen mount. The top of the mast was left protruding through the top of the mound.

The museum created an amazing 3D experience projected on the walls and ceiling around the ship in one of the four rooms housing the ships and artifacts, representing what the burial process must have been like – as historically accurate as possible, reconstructed from the archaeology. It’s almost like reaching back in time and standing right there as the burial occurred. I took this short 5 minute video and it’s incredible!

If you can’t get in touch with your inner Viking here, you can’t get in touch with your inner Viking!

Viking Grave Goods

This carved cart was excavated from one of the burials. The Vikings clearly sent their dead to the afterlife with the finest they had to offer.

Those wheels! Notice the human face above the wheel.

Every ship had a different carved creature on the prow. Was this a good luck charm of sorts, a protecting amulet or perhaps meant to frighten anyone who might come into contact with the ship or its inhabitants?

I so wonder what these were meant to portray. Good luck? Fear? A deity? Confer protection?

These designs remind me of later Celtic work. I have to wonder which came first – chicken or egg?

I wonder if these are mythical creatures, each with a long-lost story. Imagine sitting by the fires at night, or sailing in the ships themselves as they rocked on the waves, listening to stories about the Norse Gods that had been handed down in the same way for millennia.

Viking shoes laced up the center and then the laces were tied around the ankles. The people’s feet were small compared to ours today.

A carved sled, one of two on display.

These artifacts are pieces of art.

I wonder if these items were actually used or were ceremonial in nature, given their intricate carving.

Norwegian Museum of Cultural History

Next door to the Viking Ship Museum is the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, called the Norsk Folkenmuseum. It’s an outdoor “folk museum.”

We are actually moving forward in time, from the Viking era to early Norwegian villages scattered along the coastlines and protected from the open sea inside fjords. Of course, many of these villages probably began as Viking encampments and evolved into farming and agricultural hamlets.

We walked along the sidewalk and the thickly vine-covered wall. .

This coffee-shop was just too inviting and as it so happened, the gateway to the folk museum – a series of “villages” designed to represent various historical regions of Norway.

The outdoor museum was constructed as groups of structures, clustered in villages from various parts of Norway. Instead of destroying these old structures, they were disassembled piece by piece and brought here to be conserved and preserved.

Let’s go inside for a walk – or as it turned out, a hike.

Notice the sod roofs.

The roof was layered with grass, sod, wood or rock edges and birch bark.

We couldn’t tell if the rocks simply lined the edge or were a base layer. This would seem awfully heavy.

Some roofs were shimmed.

The doors were small, probably to conserve heat.

Many buildings were elevated to keep rodents out.

Buildings clustered around a plowed field.

Look at this incredible decorative carving. Each structure had the owners initials and the year of construction incised above the door. (You can click to enlarge the images.)

Around a curve, we discovered a Sami family homestead.

A barn or animal enclosure.

Some of the Sami structures, called lavvu, look like teepees of the Native Americans in North America, but genetically, they don’t seem to be related. The Sami are, however, related genetically to the Russian people of the Uralic region.

The Sami people of the north are nomads, traditionally living a subsistence culture centered around the reindeer.

Their bone carvings and weaving are stunning.

Nothing goes to waste.

We should have known we were in trouble when we noticed mile markers. How many were there? A lot!

Notice the roofs in the background. The museum is quite hilly.

In some places, outright steep. Notice those stacked rocks beside the path.

Maybe a barn in an odd shape?

One of the museum highlights was the incredible stave church.

The church, from the 12th century, saved by the very visionary King of Norway in 1881 is undergoing repair but was open to visitors.

The King with the church.

Interior door. The carving on this doorway is very similar to the carving on the Viking prows – so you can see that the Norwegian culture evolved from the Vikings to contemporary residents. The Vikings didn’t “go” anyplace and live on today.

The church interior Last Supper painting after the Norwegians were converted to Christianity from Paganism.

The carved doors are amazing. Notice how worn the thresholds are from millions of footsteps.

What a beautiful, peaceful, view.

Ornate church roof structures.

So, how many genealogists does it take to decipher the roman numerals on the front of this church?

The answer: III

The construction of some of these buildings is amazing.

These were built to last!

Saying goodbye to the church, we found ourselves overlooking another village.

The sod roof is also being repaired (replaced?) on one of the structures.

Another milestone.

Do you see the face? Is this a troll?

Buildings from another region with rounded and taller arches over doorways.

I love this fence.

Walking down this hillside feels like we are arriving from the country into the village. This village has its own sauna drying laundry facility.

Complete with scented herbs.

This barn smells with the sweet scent of hay. Reminds me of home.

Regional differences in architecture are quite visible.

Each door and post is carved.

Love these ornate doors but mind your head.

I think we found the jail.

These structures had one room that functioned for everything for the entire family. No such thing as privacy.

Smoke exited, light entered. These were carved in the wall, not the roof.

For the most part, windows didn’t exist. We did not notice vent holes on the top or in the roofs of most structures.

Although some had chimneys with metal tops to keep the birds out, weighted down by rocks to keep the tops from blowing away.

This larger home was ornate and 2 story.

Built in bird houses.

Martin pondering Norwegian heritage.

I just love these different fence styles – many of which I’ve never seen before. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.

Just humor me and my fence infatuation.

Two styles of fences along with two styles of rock walls – all in one picture.

Yet another fence type in another region.

In Hardanger, a few buildings had slate roofs.

This building’s cornerstones look like they might break under the weight.

Snuck another fence in on you😊

It was getting dark by the time we finished our tour of Norway’s little villages, so we caught the tram back into Oslo. The next morning, we visited the Museum of Cultural History.

Museum of Cultural History

The ticket for the Viking Ship Museum included a free pass for Museum of Cultural History, visible from my hotel room, a block or so from the hotel. The outside is getting a facelift and inside, new exhibits, so only portions were open – but they were well worth the visit.

While this museum held several fascinating exhibits, the ones I enjoyed the most were the ones related to Scandinavian history.

I can see myself drinking out of this beautiful Viking drinking horn. Mead perhaps?

The Vikings were clean people, combing their hair regularly and the manes of their horses as well.

The Vikings and Scandinavians were incredible craftsmen.

That Stave Church again with life-size carved religious statues.

A runestone from Tune, 400 AD, that discussed three daughters and an inheritance.

Oldest Sami drum in existence, confiscated in 1691 by the Norwegian authorities. The Sami were very resistance to acculturation. It’s somehow ironic that the only reason this artifact still exists is that it was taken away from the Sami people.

Sami medicine man robe. For every vision or trance, he tied another piece of fabric onto his robe.

The back. I was curious what happened to these robes when the medicine man died. Obviously, this one came to live at the museum.

As we exited the Sami exhibit, we found ourselves on a different continent entirely.

How About Egypt Next?

Although these Egyptian mummies are clearly not Norwegian, I can’t resist including them because I’ve never seen mummies in this condition. These are amazing, ornate and beautiful.

Penny Walters who has spent a significant amount of time in Egypt was thrilled with this part of the exhibit. We learned a great deal from her as well.

I think the pyramids might officially be on my bucket list now.

I so want to sequence the mummy’s DNA.

The walls of the tomb where this mummy was found were painted with these stars. The sign below provides information about the mummy above.

Thankfully, some of the signage includes an English version for us language-challenged visitors.

These colors are incredibly vibrant, even today.

I love these hands.

Notice her breasts too. I had to wonder if this is the first known depiction of a bra.

We exited the Egyptian gallery to find ourselves celebrating the Day of the Dead. That’s a pretty dramatic cultural shift!

Day of the Dead

The Latino Day of the Dead roughly corresponds to Halloween in the US, but it’s a wonderful cultural celebration of ancestors – those who have gone on.

This lovely celebratory “Day of the Dead” weekend includes food, the honoring of ancestors by creating altars and inviting them back with their favorite foods, and festively decorating graves.

This exhibit was colorful, cultural and fun. After all, it is the Museum of Cultural History – and not just Scandinavian culture.

Day of the Dead altar and skeletons of course.

This beaded skull is stunning. Click on this picture for a close-up.

Good thing they didn’t have one of these in the gift shop. It would have been named and on its way home with me.

The Pub

How can I possibly develop “favorite places” in just a few days? I seem to do this wherever I go and often, they are pubs.

Many restaurants in Oslo aren’t open until evening which makes lunch challenging.

Fortunately, right across the street from the hotel was a wonderful pub. The best thing about pubs is often the laid-back and welcoming atmosphere.

By the last day, I was exhausted. A combination of the excitement before the trip, the overnight flight itself, followed by three jet-lagged conference days, then two days of cultural absorption. I was running on adrenaline alone, because I certainly wasn’t sleeping well.

On the final day, Penny left for the airport around noon. Martin and I went back to the pub for lunch after discovering two other choices were closed. We had originally decided to walk to the fort on the waterfront after lunch, but lunch led to coffee which led to more conversation and another coffee and let’s just say when it started getting dark, we decided to simply go back to the hotel and pack. I took my leftovers and had them for dinner.

Our pub afternoon was lovely, sipping coffee (Martin) and Ginger Joe (me.) We caught up on what had happened since our last adventure outside Belfast, Ireland last year.

The Summit

But before we began packing, we had one more stop to make – a visit to the summit bar of the Radisson Blu hotel which is the highest location in the city.

The Cultural Museum (with the Egyptian and Day of the Dead exhibits) is the white building in the left lower corner.

On the other side of the hotel, the palace is illuminated at center left.

There was too much glare for me to take good pictures, but you can see the hotel’s gallery here and some beautiful photos here.

I loved Oslo. I made fond forever memories with both old and new friends. But alas, it was time to leave.

You can read about my incredible 5 AM ride to the airport – and yes, it really was amazing: Norwegian Cultural Gems – Burial Practices, Cemeteries, Heritage Clothing and Family Traditions

One Final Treat – Greenland

On my way home, winging through the air at over 500 miles per hour as compared to those Viking ships clipping right along at 11, I was treated to an incredibly stunning view of Greenland.

Glaciers, fjords, the sea and sunset. How does it get better than this?

The Vikings wouldn’t have believed their eyes.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our trip to Norway and the wonderful culture this country has to offer. If you’d like to learn more, please check out my earlier articles:

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